Battles Close To Home
by Anthony1
Summary: Fifth story in series. People usually fight many battles throughout their lives. You win some and you lose some. But sometimes the battles that may prove to be the most difficult are the ones that are near to us.
1. Reality

It took me a while but I finally was able to update my series with the story that follows the previous one, "The Path Taken". As you read this story you may find that the chapters that'll be in it somewhat confusing but don't worry. I think that those who have read the previous stories of the series will better understand what I'm going to be doing. Anyways, as not to waste anymore of your time, here is the first chapter of "Battles Close To Home". As for the disclaimer, I don't own digimon.

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Battles Close To Home

_Realism…has no more to do with reality than anything else.  
__Hob Broun_

Chapter 1:  
Reality

"_That had to be the best sleep I had in quite some time."_ Stretching on top of the bed Daisuke wiped the sleep from his eyes and it was then that he realized that something was off. _"Wait a minute. What is this place? This isn't my bedroom."_ True to Daisuke's word, instead of the simple and bare sleeping quarters that he was accustomed to he was in a ravishing bedroom that he expected to be in, let alone sleeping. _"What's going on? I don't remember every seeing this room until now." _

Daisuke was so focused on the strange situation that he had gotten into that he hadn't realize that someone had been taking a shower in the adjacent bathroom and had seemingly finished it. Hearing the sound of a door being opened Daisuke napped out of his train of thought and what he saw shocked him nearly as much as waking up in the unknown room

Walking out of the bathroom was Hikari but the thing that caught him by surprise was that she was walking around in nothing more than a towel which was wrapped securely around her body. "Hikari?! What do you think you're doing?"

Not showing the least bit of surprise, Hikari turned her attention towards him. "Oh good, you're finally awake I see. That's good as I was starting to wonder if I wore you out more than I originally thought." Before Daisuke had the chance to question what she meant by that she allowed the towel to fall to the ground resulting in her standing there in all her naked glory. Too stunned to speak Daisuke did the only thing that he could think of which was closing his eyes and placing his hands over them.

Noticing the way that Daisuke was acting, Hikari let out a chuckle. "Come on now. I'm not that bad looking." Turning back around she started to get dress and when he felt as though it was finally safe to look Daisuke opened his eyes to see her in a simply white dress that reached just pass her knees. "Well, are you going to get up or sit there all day?"

Still too daze from what was going on Daisuke simply put on a shirt and pants that were lying near by. Getting up he walked to the door and no sooner did he take two steps a little boy and girl wrapped their arms around his legs. "Good morning daddy. We're so glad to see that you're awake." spoke the little girl who looked like a younger Hikari except she had his reddish brown hair color. As for the little boy, he resembled him when he was younger with the exception of his brown hair.

"Uh, Hikari, not to be rude but who are these kids?"

Sticking her head form inside the bedroom she gave him a confused stare. "Are you kidding? Those are our kids." Just when Daisuke thought things couldn't get anymore stranger this nearly blew him away. Seeing the weird look on his face, Hikari went over and place a hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling all right honey? You've been acting strange since you woke up."

It was then that Daisuke took notice of the ring that was on her left ring finger. Glancing over to his own left hand he saw that he had a ring on as well." "I'm fine…dear. I guess I'm still tired so I'm a bit out of it."

"Well, I don't know if I shoulder consider that a compliment or not. But it's good to see that there's nothing wrong with you." Leaning over Hikari gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Now hurry up and get dress. You don't want to be late for work."

"_I don't know what's happening but until I figure out what's exactly going on I better play along."_ thought Daisuke to himself. "What work are you talking about?"

-/-/-/-/-

"I never thought I'd be wearing this type of thing again." Parking his car, Daisuke walked over to his work until he was right in front of the police department. Tugging at his police outfit he couldn't help but think about the past. _"Wearing this really brings back a lot of memories. It brings back both the good and the bad memories."_

After calming himself down Daisuke entered the building and once he entered it was like stepping into a flashback as the place looked exactly like the one that he worked at before becoming a vampire. It felt so unreal to be actually be going through all this a second time. Collecting his composure he headed over to where his assigned squad car was and once he was in drove off to do his patrol. For the majority of the day nothing happen except for the occasional small scuffle or two.

Soon nightfall came and it was almost time for him to call it for the day. However, as he was making his way back to the station he received a call over the police radio. "All unites. Repeat all units. The report of an unknown person of attempted burglary has been seen fleeing down Main Street. Please be on the lookout for this suspect."

Knowing that he was going down Main Street, Daisuke quickly looked on either side of the street for the possible suspect. He didn't have to search for long as coming straight his way was a man in jeans, a black shirt and a tanned colored jacket. Once the suspect spotted Daisuke's squad car he immediately turned around and ran the opposite way.

Not allowing the person the chance to get away he quickly parked the police car and rushed after the fleeing man. It was a few moments until he finally spotted the suspect as he was climbing a fire escape. Following the example, Daisuke climbed after him and it wasn't until he got to the rooftop that he caught up with the person that he was chasing.

"All right now, hold it right there." Hearing the cop's voice, the suspect stopped but kept his back towards him. "I don't know who you are so I have no idea why you did it but it's not worth running from the law."

Slowly but surly the suspect walked over to the end of the rooftop. "It's quite amazing really." Spoke the suspect in a calm voice. "Despite the many people that live within this city they have no idea what really goes on within it. Not knowing what lurks in the very place that they call home."

Even though he had a good understanding at what the guy was talking about, Daisuke figured that it would be wiser to get the man away from the rooftop ledge. "Yeah, whatever you say. But why don't we finish this conversation on safer ground?" Acting quickly he grabbed the guy's arm in an attempt to pull him to safety but he struggled to break free from his grasp.

Neither one surrendered as they fought for control. It was then that Daisuke got a good look at the man's face and once he saw it he couldn't believe it. What caught his attention was that the man had shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes. "T-Takeru?"

Indeed it was Takeru Takashi. The same Takeru who was the friend of him and Hikari who'd died a year ago. The shock of this discovery was so great on Daisuke that he release his gripe on Takeru. Using this newly found opening to his advantage, Takeru actually jumped off the ledge. Putting aside the shock for the time being Daisuke peered over the ledge expecting to see if there was a crumbled body on the ground.

He would be proven wrong as he spotted Takeru on top of a loading truck that was driving away. Realizing that there was no way for him to catch up with Takeru in time he could only watch on as what he believed to be his once dead friend fading off into the darkness.

-/-/-/-/-

"_What in the hell is going on?"_ That question was respectively asked inside of the head of Daisuke. _"First off, I wake up to a place that I've never seen before. Next, I discover that not only am I together with Hikari but we're married and with kids as well. To top it all off, a friend that was originally dead is now alive again."_ Those and many other things went through his head as he was on the verge of being at home. _"Was everything that happen in the past just a dream? If that were the case then why did it feel so real?"_

Putting those thoughts away for the time being, Daisuke arrived home and entered to the sight of his family. "Daddy!" Running down the hallway were his two kids as they went over to him and hugged each of his legs.

Not able to resist the innocent eyes that the kids were showing him, he knelt down in front of them and ruffled their hair. "Hey kids, did you have fun today? Didn't cause any trouble?"

"I was a good daddy but Daichi was being mean." exclaimed the little girl about her brother, now identified as Daichi.

"No I wasn't. That's a lie daddy." Daichi quickly spoke so to prevent any type of trouble for him. "Riku started it by taking one of my toys away without asking."

Soon the kids started arguing with one another which Daisuke quickly intervened. "Now that's enough you two." Thankfully that stopped the two of them. "Stop arguing with one another and go play nicely." Doing as their father told them to do the siblings went off and in no time were getting along as if they hadn't been yelling at one another.

"You always were good at stopping them from fighting." From the kitchen door was Hikari wearing a apron and a smile on her face.

"What can I say? I have a way with kids. Especially when they know that if they don't listen they'll lose their toys and other play things." Going into the kitchen the two grown ups worked together to get dinner ready. While they were doing that, Daisuke saw this as a good opportunity to get a bit more back-story on what was going on. "Hikari, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can. What's the question?"

"Do you mind telling me how we got together?"

Hearing that question actually made Hikari stop in what she was doing and look at him in confusion. "Why are you asking such a thing? Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he quickly explained to hide his real reason for asking. "Could you just humor me by telling me?" Not seeing the harm in it, Hikari decided to humor him.

"I think it was probably nine years ago. You were a cop for a while and I was having a successful career in modeling. I was scheduled to do a modeling show and you happened to be one of the officers assigned to keep order. Everything ran smoothly and it looked as though things would be uneventful until something took place."

**Flashback, Nine Years Ago…**

"Come on Hikari, we're going to be late." hollered an attractive black haired woman. It was a few hours since the modeling event had ended and all the models were suppose to get in a tour like bus that were suppose to take them back to their assigned hotel. Unfortunately their departure was being held back because one of them was taking forever to leave.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Just give me a minute." After finally getting ready, Hikari hurried out of the building to join her friends. It seemed as though things would go through smoothly only it wouldn't be the case as a man came out from the shadows, grabbed her from behind and pressed a knife against her throat.

"All right, do what I say and nothing bad will happen to this girl." It was obvious that the man wasn't bluffing about his threat as he pressed the point against Hikari's throat. "Now, throw all your money and any other valuables that you may have in front of me and don't try anything funny or your friend will regret it."

Understanding that there was nothing that they could do to prevent the threat from happening Hikari's friends did as they were told and started to throw their valuables to the mugger. Seeing the potential profit that he could get from this exploitation the mugger could hardly wait to collect his newly possessed items when suddenly someone entered the fray.

"Hold it right there!" Turning around and making sure that Hikari was still in front of him he took notice of who spoke up. It was a police officer with messy maron hair and had his hand gun pointed straight at him. "I'll tell you this once and only once. Let the girl go and lay flat down on the ground so I won't have to put another hole in your body."

Knowing full well that the officer wouldn't risk hurting the girl the mugger merely laughed. "Who are you trying to kid? I know that you won't risk in accidentally hitting the girl. So, just drop your gun to the ground." To his shock, the officer kept his gun aimed at him. Feeling as though he wasn't being taken seriously he pressed the knife even harder on Hikari's neck which resulted in a small trail of blood to trinkle down.

Apparently come to his senses, the officer started to lower his gun. "All right, I'll do as you ask." Reluctantly he tossed the gun aside.

Once the weapon was gone the mugger looked back to the people on the bus. "That's right. None of you are able to stop me."

With the opening presented itself, the police officer reached behind him and pulled out a smaller gun that he kept hidden for situations such as this one. Aiming carefully he fired and prayed that he would hit his target. Hearing the sound of a gun being fired the mugger turned back around but it would prove to be a mistake. No sooner did he turn around did the bullet struck.

It was unknown who was hit as both the mugger and Hikari hit the ground due to the force of the shot. Being cautious the officer went over to see the results of his quick decision. At first glance it was impossible to determine the condition of the two. It wasn't until he noticed the blood coming from them did the officer threw caution out the window and rushed over.

Examining each of them he knew that their injuries were serious turned to the people on the bus. "Someone call for a paramedic. We have two people injured who are need of medical attention." Understanding the severity of the situation thee call was quickly made.

-/-/-/-/-

For who knows how long Hikari finally opened her eyes and when she was able to shake away the cobwebs she realize that she was in what looked like a hospital room. _"What am I doing here? The only thing that I can recall is me being held up with a knife by some mugger. Then some officer appeared in an attempt to rescue me and the last thing that I can recall was hearing the sound of a gun going off."_ Hikari was so consume with her thoughts that she didn't notice that she had some company.

"Ah, you're awake at last. That's a relief." Looking to where the voice came from she saw that it belonged to the officer who had saved her. She attempted to give her thanks but wasn't able to as she tried to speak only for nothing to come out except for tiny squeaks. "Hey, take it easy. Don't stress yourself."

Not understanding what the problem could be she placed a hand on her throat and discovered that there was some sort of medical wrap around it. "When that mugger got shot in the shoulder the knife nicked your throat and damaged your vocal cords." The officer answered Hikari's unasked question. "Don't worry though. From what the doctor said there doesn't appear to be any permanent damage. It just means that you won't be able to talk for a few weeks. It's advised that you communicate with pen and paper." He motioned to a pen and pad of paper that was on a nearby nightstand.

Still wanting to show her gratitude she grabbed the pad and pen and quickly scribbled something down. Motioning for her savior to come closer she gave him the paper. Grabbing the item he saw that there was a short but effective message. 'Thank you so much for saving me. I really appreciate it.'

"Don't worry about it. I just happen to be at the right place at the right time. Besides, just knowing that I was able to protect a lovely lady like you is enough thanks for me." That remark took Hikari by complete surprise that she couldn't do anything or even say a word. Putting a hand in front of her face she tried to hide the blush that had came over her. "Well, I wanted to make sure that you were all right, so I better go now."

The officer was heading for the exit when he saw that Hikari was motioning for him to come back. Going back he was given the pad of paper again and saw that there was something new written. 'Would you do me the honor of telling me your name?'

Looking over he gave her a kind smile. "The name's Daisuke. Daisuke Motomiya."

**End of Flashback…**

"That's how it all began. We started seeing each other and there were rocky spots here and there but we overcame them and got married. Shortly a year later we had Daichi then two years later Riku was born. I even have a souvenir of that fateful night we met." She motioned to the small scar that was on her neck. "I still find it strange that you'd suddenly wanted to talk about that."

Not wanting her to discover the real reason why he asked, Daisuke quickly thought of a reasonable excuse. "What can I say? Maybe I just wanted to think back to something that changed my life and I mean in a good way."

Touched by his words Hikari went over and gave him a tender kiss on the lips. "That's sweat of you to say. However, we have to put a halt on any further walking down memory lane and get dinner ready. Also, if you play your cards right we might reenact what happened during our honeymoon." For the rest of the night everything went smoothly. But despite how much he was enjoying an actual family dinner and playing with the kids, Daisuke couldn't help but feel that something was amiss.

-/-/-/-/-

"_Something doesn't add up here."_ It was the next day and currently Daisuke was in the police department trying to sort things out. _"The Takeru I knew wasn't a clean cut guy but no way was he capable of stealing something and running from the police. There has to be something that I'm missing."_

While he was trying to figure things out an attractive police woman came over with a folder in hand. "Here you go, Daisuke. Here's that file that you wanted." The woman handed the folder over to him. "I don't know why you needed it so quickly however."

"Thanks and to answer you, I just wanted to figure out why that person would be willing to steal something then run from the cops."

"What are you talking about? Nothing was stolen." This newest bit of information caught Daisuke by surprise as he didn't expect to hear that.

"I thought we were after the culprit because he stole something. If he wasn't trying to steal something then why did he risk getting in trouble?"

"I don't know what to tell you. I only know what I told you, nothing else." Having nothing else to say the lady left, leaving Daisuke with his thoughts.

"_Nothing was reported stolen? Why would Takeru go through such trouble and get nothing at the end?" _Try as he might Daisuke wasn't able to come up with an answer._ "Maybe I should talk with who reported the incident."_ Opening the folder, Daisuke looked for the information that he was searching for and when he found it he could hardly believe it. _"Oh, you got to be kidding me."_

-/-/-/-/-

"Ah, welcome officer. May I ask to why you come to visit?" Not long after finding out where the alleged crime took place, Daisuke headed off to the home that belonged to a person that he believed that he knew.

"Well, Mr. Bentson, I'm here to get some more information about what happened here yesterday." That was the official reason on why Daisuke was there but he had an alternative motive.

"But of course." replied Bentson. "Follow me and please, call me Samuel." While following Samuel, Daisuke took notice that the décor of the place was way different then he remembered.

"I like what you've done with your home. It must've cost a fortune."

"You have no idea how right you are. But thankfully being one of the richest people in the world does make it easier to deal with spending so much."

He didn't know what it was but Daisuke got a strange feeling from some of the artifacts that they were walking pasted. It was as though they contained some kind of power within them. "Getting back to the matter of why I came here. Could you tell me about yesterday's incident that took place?"

Instead of answering with words Samuel lead him into a room that was in complete shambles with papers and books scattered across the floor, the computer that was set up at one side of the room was totally destroyed and judging by one of the giant window being shattered it was determined how Takeru entered and perhaps escaped. "As you can plainly see the culprite was focus solely on this room and destroyed practically everything."

Walking around, Daisuke tried to find a clue of some sort. "And you say that nothing was stolen?"

"That's right. Apparently before anything could be taken my guards came in and chased him off before he could take anything. Has there been any word on where that person could be?"

"Sorry, we don't." Daisuke quickly lied as he had his suspicions about what Samuel could have been keeping the destroyed room. "I'm afraid we don't have any leads." Peering down he spotted something interesting beside the computer. "But doesn't it seem strange that a person would break into this heavily guarded place and instead of stealing any of these valuable items, they simple wreck everything and only in this particular room?"

"That's indeed strange. But you can't always find logic in the actions of a hoodlum."

As Samuel talked, Daisuke grabbed the item and stuck it in his pocket before being caught. "I believe I got all the info that I needed to get. I'll let myself out and I bid you a good day." Turning around he headed off, leaving Samuel alone.

Soon Samuel was joined by one of his servants. "Sir, the guest has left. Is there anything that you need from me?"

With no reason to keep the charade any longer, his facial expression became darker. "Yes there is something. Make a call to my partners. We may have another problem that needs to be attended to."

-/-/-/-/-

After leaving Samuel's mansion, Daisuke parked his car in a deserted parking lot so he wouldn't be interrupted. Positive that there was no one around he reached into his pocket and pulled out the item that he managed to grab. It turned out that what he took was a few pages of what appeared to be from some sort of research project. Most of it didn't make much sense to him but there were a few things that caught his interest.

"_Power transference…fusion and molecular technology? What does it all mean and what does Takeru have to do with this?"_ The whole situation was beginning to get to Daisuke as he rubbed his eyes in the hopes that lessen the stress even in the slightest _"Just when I think I'm on the verge of finding answers I discover the more questions I get."_

Starting up the car he headed off, not knowing that there was someone in the shadow watching him as if he was prey. Shortly after he drove off, that same shadowy figure went after him. Thankfully with the day coming to a close it resulted in the streets to be nearly deserted which allowed Daisuke to think about what was going on as he drove. _"What's going on? All I know is that if I want to figure out what's happening I have to find Takeru to get my answers."_ While he tried to come up with a plan he became shocked when something landed on top of his car.

Before he had a chance to react someone managed to come through the passenger side window and into the car. Fortunately even with what happened Daisuke was able to keep the car steady. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you-" He's tirade was cut short when he saw who entered.

By the person's figure it was obvious that it was a female. The outfit she had on was all black and armor but was modified that it wouldn't hinder her while in battle. What shocked him the most however was her face. She had auburn eyes that were so intense they could probably cause even the toughest person to back away. Her hair was violet colored and reached just to the middle of her neck. Despite the drastic change, Daisuke easily recognized who the person was. "Miyako?"

Indeed it was Miyako Inoue but she wasn't like the one he remembered. Hearing her name being spoken caused her to falter momentarily but soon recovered. "How did you know my name?"

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Putting that little conversation behind, Miyako got back to why she was there in the first place.

She leaned over and pressed a dagger against his neck. "Now do as I say and I won't have to plunge this into you. Do we have an understanding?" With no way of getting out of the situation without risking getting into a wreck Daisuke agreed. _"Also, it may help in figuring out what was going on."_

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_And with that this chapter has come to an end. Some of you may be wondering what is exactly going on and I'm afraid that I can't say anything at the moment. However, I can assure you that when the next chapter comes out hopefully your questions will be answered. I hope that before you leave that you readers will leave a review about what you think about this story and even the series all together. Until then, see ya and have a happy Thanksgiving. 


	2. What Might Have Been

Here is the next chapter to this particular part of my story series. Consider this as an early holiday gift.

Apparently this previous chapter got the readers a little confused about what was going on but I promise you that everything will be made more clearer after you read this chapter. Now, as for the disclaimer, I don't own digimon

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_Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.  
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), (attributed)_

Chapter 2:  
What Might Have Been

"Where in the hell are we?" After being basically force to follow his kidnapper's directions it lead Daisuke to what appeared to be a burn down clinic of some sort. Even though he never had been to this place before it struck something in his memory.

"If you must know I refer it as home." answered a completely different person. Emerging from the shadows was none other than Takeru. For some reason after seeing Takeru made Daisuke remember why this place was familiar.

"_This must've been the clinic that his parents ran before they were killed."_ Not wanting to reveal too much he decided to play dumb. "I heard about this place. If I'm correct, this was a family run clinic that mysteriously burned down. The reports said it was due to wires short circuiting. They also stated that the parents who ran it died in the fire." Taking a glance over Daisuke could see that he was getting a reaction from Takeru as his eyes hardened slightly. "However, it was said that they had a kid, a boy actually. Whether he's alive or not was never discovered. Can I assume that you're that boy?"

"Your assumption would be correct. Pretty good guesses you had there. Mind explaining how you know such information?" To further encourage him to answer, Miyako pressed her dagger on Daisuke's back.

"Hey I'm a police officer. I do read the reports that come in our department." Daisuke quickly made up. "Besides, after our little run yesterday I did a little investigating. Do you have a problem with that?"

If Takeru took offense to Daisuke's remarks he didn't show it as he kept a calm look on his face. "To be quite frank, no I don't. Except that you were wrong about the fire that killed my parents. It wasn't started because of wires short circuiting. It was because set the clinic on fire and it isn't hard to figure out who was responsible."

"Let me guess, the Takenaka Corporation?" Daisuke mentioned offhandedly, thinking that it was the truth.

"No. It was Samuel Bentson." That big of news caught Daisuke completely off guard.

"Why would someone like the renowned Samuel Bentson do such a thing?" Thankfully Daisuke kept his curiosity to a minimum as he truly wanted to know why someone that he knew would do something like killing.

"He did it because my parents had some information about him that he didn't want anyone to know about. And it does have something to do with why I broke into his home." Having a good idea what he was referring to, Daisuke reached into his pocket and pulled out the notes that he took.

"Does it have anything to do with what's written on these papers that I managed to get from him?" Daisuke handed the notes over, Takeru started to read them and unlike with him, it seemed as though he knew what they meant.

Once reading all of it Takeru turned to walk away but motioned for Miyako to bring Daisuke as well. Having no real say in the matter due to the dagger being poked into his back Daisuke moved and eventually they came to one area that was covered in debris. At first glance it appeared to be nothing special until he pulled on a handle that was on the ground revealing a hidden passage way. Walking down the passage way they entered some large room that had hardly anything in it except the bare essentials and a computer that some man was working on.

"It appears as though you know a bit about what's going on. But I do believe it would be wise that you knew everything." spoke Takeru as they came to the center of the room. "Before my parents' death they were widely renowned when it came to genetics. As a result a Mr. Bentson came to them in the hopes they do a project for him. Unfortunately when they found out what that project was they immediately opposed it and they made their feelings about loud and clear.

Flashback…

"What you're doing is madness Samuel." shouted Mr. Takaishi. Currently he and his wife were in some laboratory with Samuel Bentson.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean Hiroaki." replied Samuel casually.

"Don't play dumb with us." yelled Hiroaki's wife, Natsuko. "We know what you've been making us work on for the past year. With all the tests and research we had to do with the Takenaka Corporation. It was only a matter of time until we found it out." Despite having the apparent stack of evidence against him; Samuel kept up a cool façade.

"You think you know everything? Good for you. However, you seem to miss the big picture of what I'm trying to do."

"Oh, we know what you're trying to do and quite frankly you're insane for even thinking about doing such a thing."

"My wife's right. At first we had our doubts when it came to actually working for you but we put those doubts aside as we truly believed that what we were doing was honorable. Unfortunately this plan of yours has proven that our doubts weren't justified. Once this is reported you'll have to suffer the consequences for your actions."

It was with those words that Samuel finally dropped the façade and was looking at the couple straight in their eyes which concerned the Takaishi family. "You shouldn't try to threaten someone Hiroaki. Especially, since you have nothing that can pack up with your threats. I mean, who would believe you?"

Not allowing Samuel's taunts deter him, Hiroaki retorted. "They will after we show them the documents and records that we have about what has been going on. You'll pay for what you're trying to do." With nothing else to say the Takaishis left, leaving what appeared to be a calm Samuel Bentson. However, that was only on the surface as beneath it all was a seething Samuel. _"We'll just see who'll pay for what they plan on doing."_

End of Flashback…

"Later that same day, while my parents were getting all the proof that would be needed to prove their case when a group of men set the clinic on fire with them inside. As for me, whether it was some higher power or simply dumb luck I wasn't there to share the same fate. Once I returned I immediately started to search of those responsible my parents' untimely demise."

Hearing all this made the brain of Daisuke to question Takeru's story. "Well, if you didn't know that Samuel Bentson was the one to blame then how did you find out?"

"I have my sources." Signaling over to the man at the computer to come over, Daisuke would be shocked again as he caught sight of who the man was.

"_It can't be. Apparently things keep on getting stranger by the moment."_ Masking his surprise as best as he could; he stuck his hand out to greet the man. "Hello there. The name's Daisuke Motomiya."

Returning the gesture, the man grasped Daisuke's hand with his. "Greetings, I'm Ken Ichijouji. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Let me guess. He's the source that you got for getting information about Samuel Bentson?"

"Yes I am. I was already working for Bentson when I came upon what happened to Takeru's parents." It was apparent that Ken shared Takeru's feelings about what happened to the Takiashis, not that Daisuke could blame them as he felt the same. "Wanting to help get retribution for the despicable act I sought out Takeru and joined forces with him without anyone finding out."

"That may explain why you're here but what about she hulk over here?" Daisuke was obviously referring to Miyako who was still ready to take him down if need to. That remark didn't sit to well with Miyako as she was about to pound Daisuke's skull until Takeru was able to calm her down.

"Our friend, Miyako Inoue is an interesting case. She's not originally from around here or to be more precise, this world. She came from a dimension called Patheran, a place that's slightly less advanced than our world but were known for producing some superb fighters. We still don't' know the reason on how she arrived but what we do know is that shortly after arriving she was put under custody of the Takenaka Corporation which by the way are just as evil as Samuel. They made her do some bad and unspeakable things."

Glancing over his shoulder Daisuke could see that Miyako wasn't pleased about her actions as she lowered her head in shame. "Then if she's so heartbroken about what she has done then why is she still with them?" It was tough for him to say such a harsh thing but it had to be said and he wasn't sure that she was the same Miyako that he remembered.

"Because I had no other choice." exclaimed Miyako feeling like she had to be the one to explain. "What Ken said is true. I won't try to deny it. However, I believe I had just cause. When I arrive din this world I didn't come alone. My cousin, Mimi Tachikawa was also brought here and captured like I was. But unlike me they didn't' use her as a mercenary." Taking a moment to collect herself, Miyako continued what perhaps had to be a difficult part for her to get out.

"Instead they wanted to use her like a tool because of her special ability, as she has premonitions of certain events that may take place or give glimpses to people's future. They saw that ability as a useful tool and a good way to keep me under their control. As long as I did what they said Mimi would be safe."

Becoming angered by the retelling of her past Miyako clinched her fists to restrain herself. "But after nearly six months of not being able to even talk to her I decided that it was time to take a stand and what better way than to join forces with a person that's been a constant pain to them?"

Despite that Daisuke had a complete understanding of what was said he had to keep his act up so he wouldn't draw any suspicion. All right, let me see if I have everything. Samuel Bentson, one of the richest men in the world is in fact one of the major forces of evil and Takeru here has teamed up with two people that acutlaly work for the two evil powers in the hopes of ending them. Does that pretty much cover it.?"

The only answer that he got was Takeru, Ken and Miyako nodding their heads in confirm what he said. "That's good to know. Now tell me, do you need any extra help?"

-/-/-/-/-

Hours Later…

After leaving Takeru's place, Daisuke immediately headed home and currently was laying beside his wife in their bed. Even though Hikari was fast asleep the same couldn't be said for Daisuke as he remained awake as what just recently transpired kept him from sleeping. Finally giving up on any chance of getting any sleep he got up quietly got out of bed. Going to the living room he sat down as he thought about the last bit of the conversation that he had with Takeru.

Flashback…

"Are you sure you want to be a part of this?"

"If what you say is true about what Samuel Bentson and the Takenaka Corporation trying to create a super being by merging powerful demons and other super natural forces together then you'll need all the help that you can get." replied Daisuke with absolute seriousness. "Besides, I have a family that I care for deeply and I'll do everything in my power to keep them safe."

"Fine then, if you truly want to join in our fight then so be it. But before you fully get involved in this, you'll have to decide." exclaimed Takeru.

"Decide? Decide about what?"

"If this is truly what you want to do. None of us are going to lie to you. Most likely none of us will be left once it's all said and done. Are you actually willing to do what it takes to stop them from succeeding? Even if it means that you have to sacrifice your life?"

When hearing it put like that made Daisuke think twice about his choice about fighting. Seeing his doubt, Takeru spoke up again. "Take the rest of this night to think about whether or not if you want to take part of this fight. If you want to be still involved meet with us early the next morning. Remember, this'll be a battle to the end."

End of Flashback…

Daisuke continued to have Takeru's words repeat in his head. _"Could I really be willing to sacrifice my life to stop an unholy event from happening? When I thought I was a vampire I would do it with a drop of a hat. But that seems to have been nothing more than a dream."_

Getting up he walked down the halls and happen to come across the room where his two children slept. Leaning against the door frame he couldn't help but stare at their faces as they slept peacefully. _"If I fight it's almost certain that I won't come out of it alive which would mean that my kids won't have a father. But if I were able to aid in the prevention of this upcoming disaster then at least they'll be able to live their lives in peace."_

Walking away from his children Daisuke went back to his bedroom. Once he got himself settled in bed, Hikari reached over and even though she was still asleep was able to press herself closer to him. That moment made Daisuke forget his troubles and was finally able to allow the exhaustion to overcome him as he fell to sleep.

-/-/-/-/-

"This is you guys. This is what we have been waiting for." On a rooftop not too far away from where the unholy ceremony was to take place were none other than Takeru, Ken and Miyako. "Remember, we must do everything in our power will be needed to prevent the ceremony from happening. If we can't do that we have to make sure that whatever is created doesn't get pass us." Even if they didn't say, Takeru knew that his friends understood.

Getting themselves prepared for the upcoming battle they readied their weapons, knowing that they would need them. "It appears as though that Daisuke character won't be showing up after all." informed Ken.

"That appears to be the case." remarked Miyako. "You can't really blame him in not getting involved. After all, he has way more to lose than any of us. He probably didn't want to take the chance in being taken away from his family." Miyako's suspicions were met with a snort from Ken.

"Or perhaps he wasn't man enough to show up. If you ask me he didn't have the guts to get involved with this."

"Then I guess it's good that nobody asked you." Turning around the three of them saw Daisuke with a no nonsense expression on his face.

"It appears as though you decided to fight after all."

"Like I told you before I'm willing to put my own well being aside so that my family can live." Reaching over to the bag of weapons and pulled out a sword. "I didn't even say goodbye to them. Let's make sure that I won't regret doing that."

Understanding that there was no point in delaying it any longer they headed out. As they moved out, Daisuke saw Ken sharing a quick but tender kiss with Miyako. "Those two are an item?" he asked Takeru.

"Yes they are. In fact, they're engaged and hope to get married if they survive this." Putting that shocking news on the back burner they quickly force themselves into the building. Using the element of surprise to their advantage, Daisuke and the others were able to make short work of the guards, which consisted of mostly vampires and a few humans. This continued as they went further down the passage ways until they at last arrived at their destination.

The entire room had an eerie feel and it wasn't due to the enormous size of it. Throughout the room there were some strange symbols that none of them knew what they meant except that some of them were pictures of brutal and gruesome rituals that people were being put through.

"My God." muttered Daisuke.

"There's no God here." commented Takeru. For a while nothing else could be found and there was no sign of anyone being in the room recently.

"What's the deal here?" questioned Miyako. "Are you sure that this is the right place Ken?"

"I'm certain of it. I checked all my sources more than once and they always confirmed that this was going to be the place that the ceremony was going to take place."

"Maybe they happen to find out that you were planning on doing and changed where they were going to do it." To seemingly challenge Ken's theory, a large amount of heavily armed soldiers came marching out and surrounded them with their weapons aimed straight at them. "I just had to open my big mouth didn't I?"

Surprisingly they started to hear the sound of someone clapping. As the clapping got louder a man was walking over towards them. Once the person came into view Daisuke and the others were slightly shocked to see who it was. "My, isn't this a surprise. Who would've thought that you four would make it all this way?"

Not taking too kindly to the man's sarcasm, Takeru wanted to go over and knocked the smugness out of him but was stopped when some of the soldiers pointed their weapons at him. "Ah, temper, temper Takeru. You better put a lid on that anger before it could cause you to end up like your parents."

Despite wanting to do nothing more than rip the man's throat out, Takeru swallowed his anger down, knowing that he was in no position to actually do anything. "Mark my words Samuel Bentson, you'll pay for your sings and I'll make sure that happens."

"Such bold words Takashi." stated Samuel as he showed no sign of being effected by Takeru's words. "Unfortunately in the end that's what they are, just words. Now be smart and lay your weapons down so there won't be any need for violence."

Slowly and reluctantly each of them put their weapons down. "Who would've thought that out of all the enemies that me and my associates had together, it was you four who'd get this far. I mean Takeru Takashi, the son of Hiroaki and Natsuko, the two top genetic scientists in the world. Ken Ichijouji, no doubt one of my most leading computer researchers and considered one of the best in dealing with anything that involves technology. Miyako Inoue, the Patheran hit man of the Takenaka Corporation. Doing unforgivable things in the hopes of rescuing her cousin, Mimi Tachikawa from their evil clutches."

A sinister smirk suddenly started to come across Samuel's face. "Speaking of your cousin, you might like to know that cousin of yours is dead." That bit of news shocked the four heroes, but definitely Miyako took it the hardest as it was though she was punched in the gut. "As a matter of fact she's been dead for quite sometime. Apparently she was starting to feel bad that her gift was being used for the corporation's benefit." It was clear that Samuel was taking great pleasure in retelling of the terrible moment.

"Add that with the strange illness that she contracted the higher ups decided that it would be better to put an end to the problem. But don't be too upset because they decided to keep the body parts that were connected with her premonition power, so she's not entirely gone."

Before anyone could even react, Miyako rushed pass the soldiers and deliver a vicious punch across Samuel's face. That moment of triumph would be short lived as she was brought down by the soldiers and was given a small beating until she was saved by Ken. Putting a hand to his mouth, Samuel saw that a trickle of blood was running down his lower lip. Despite this, he maintained that same arrogant smirk of his face.

"Nice shot that you had there. Too bad it turn out to be pointless. Now onto something that puzzles me." It was then that Samuel turned his attention towards Daisuke. "Why would a police officer such as you, Daisuke Motomiya get themselves involved in something such as this?"

Daisuke wanted to say the real reason why he came. Him wanting to finally find out if the memories of being a vampire were real or were they all just nothing more than some crazy dream and the life that he had with Hikari and his two kids were the real thing. "Let's just say that I needed to be here."

"Well, if you came here to meet your end then you came to the right place." As if calling for it, a large portion of one of the walls opened up and revealed a massive cylinder with some sort of black murky substance inside with numerous men pulling it out. "Here it is. This is what you were trying to prevent. Within this cylinder are the essences of the strongest demons that are known to man." While he spoke, Samuel began to unbutton his coat so that all he had on was a black muscle shirt and pants.

"Just imagine the possibilities that this'll present. The incredible strength, enhance abilities and the powers that the demons originally possessed. With all those combined into one complete being there won't be anything that can stop it from doing whatever it wanted to do."

Wanting to try and plan the seeds of deception, Daisuke openly asked a question. "That most likely is the case except one thing puzzles me. How are you and the Takenaka Corporation going to control an all powerful creature?"

Even though it was obvious that he heard his question Samuel maintained that same smug attitude. "Who said anything about the Takenaka Corporation having any control?" Taking the looks of confusion on the four wannabe heroes' faces he continued. "Those foolish higher ups actual believe that I was going to share such an incredible power. What they don't know is actually being the one who'll be gaining these powers."

"Are you mad?!" exclaimed Ken with the thought that were going through all their heads. "There's no way you could possibly take on all that power into you."

"Then why don't we see if that'll be the case." Walking in front of the cylinder Samuel gave the signal for the lid to be open. Doing as instructed the men opened the lid and the black substance rushed out where it hovered in the air. All those who were witnessing this could only stare in wonder as the substance flowed through as if it was waiting for something.

That something turned out to be a chant that Samuel was reciting. The chanting seemed to have some type of affect on the substance as it drifted towards him. "Yes, that's it. Join with me and become one." The substance, as if responding to his words went into Samuel's body, using practically every opening in his body to do so. Once all of it went into him he began to convulse as if in pain. None of them knew what to make of it until they saw that his body was actually beginning to change.

His body was becoming muscular and a layer of what appeared to be black scaly skin. Poking out of his back were a pair of large bat like wings as well as a row of small spikes going all the way down his back. The spikes on his back wouldn't be the only ones as two larger ones protruded from both shoulders. With a haggard breath the now transformed Samuel returned his attention toward Daisuke and the others as he stared at them with eyes that were as black as coal.

"Incredible, simply incredible." exclaimed Samuel in a more sickening sounding voice. "The power that's coursing through my veins is indescribable." Flexing his now claw like hands a wicked stare came across his demonic face. "Maybe a little demonstration is in order."

Expecting for him to come after them, Daisuke and the others got themselves ready for whatever was to come. However, to their surprise he attacked his very own men. Without any sign of remorse the now demonic Samuel began to slaughter all of his men as their blood curdling screams filled the room. In no time all of the men were laid across the floor in dead heaps. "What a rush." He then in a sick gesture licked the blood of his fallen men off his claws. "Even though I just started I'm enjoying the moments when I slash these claws through living flesh. I must experience more of this feeling."

Knowing that he was referring to them, the four defenders quickly grabbed their fallen weapons and readied themselves for this all important battle. Moving at inhuman speed they barely had time to get away from Samuel's first attempted strikes. To their dread however history wouldn't repeat itself as ken would be the first to be struck down as Samuel plunged his claws through his chest and out the back.

"Ken, no!" Forgetting completely about the battle, Miyako rushed over to her beloved's fallen body. With the opening presented in front of him Samuel was about to strike Miyako down as well until both Daisuke and Daisuke fought him back as the two lovers had what most likely be their final moment together. "Come on Ken. Stay with me."

To Miyako's relief Ken was able to focus his eyes on her. "Hey there good looking. Tell me, how bad is it?" Obviously he was referring to his wound that he received. She didn't' have to be an expert to see that the wound was fatal as blood was pouring out from the opening.

"It's not that bad. There's nothing to worry about." Judging by the look that he was giving her that Ken didn't believe her for an instant.

"You always were a terrible liar Miyako, especially when it came with me." Seemingly to prove it Ken began to cough heavily and blood to come from his mouth. "Apparently I don't have much time left." Even though he knew this he didn't' seem that upset about it.

"Stop talking like that. You're going to be fine." Too bad Miyako was hanging onto false hope as she knew that there wasn't much time left in her love's life. "You have to make it through this. Remember we're supposed to get married once this is all done with." She tried to maintain her tough persona but it was obvious that it was just a façade as there were unshed tears welling up in her eyes.

Reaching with a trembling hand Ken stroked Miyako's cheek tenderly. "Believe me, there's nothing more I would rather do than get married to you. But at last it's not meant to be." Another coughing fit began and shortly after it was over Ken started to have difficulty breathing. "I'll say hello to Mimi for you. Remember, even though I'm not with you in body I'll always be with you in spirit and that I'll always love you."

Those words would be the last ones that Ken would say as his eyes glazed over and his head lifelessly turned to the side. Not wanting to believe what was happening to be true, Miyako shook Ken's body in the hopes that he was still with her. Unfortunately it would prove to be a waste as the body only shook lifelessly. Finally coming to the understanding that her love was truly gone, she embraced the body as if saying farewell. Laying the body gently to the ground she slowly slid the eyelids down. With tears freely going down her cheeks Miyako glanced down at her dead love's body. _"I promise you Ken. Your death will be avenged."_

Fueled by both anger and sorrow Miyako grabbed her sword and rushed over to Daisuke and Takeru who despite having the numbers advantage were struggling against the demonic Samuel. Putting all that she had in her attack she was actually able to make Samuel struggle. It would be unfortunate that it wouldn't last long as he grabbed one of her oncoming sword swipes. Twisting the sword around, he drove it into Miyako's stomach. To add even more pain Samuel twisted the weapon side to side.

Enjoying the pain that he was delivering the demented demon kicked Miyako off the sword with such force that she actually few across the room as she landed close to Ken's dead body. Surprisingly to everyone she began to stir slightly. Crawling across the ground Miyako headed toward the body of her beloved. Trying to spit out the blood that was coming from her mouth she grasped Ken's lifeless hand.

"I-I guess we won't be apart for much longer Ken." With that Miyako's eyes became lifeless and her body collapsed completely to the ground as there was no life remaining within her.

"Ah, what a tender moment that was." jeered Samuel. "Fighting a hopeless battle and ending up dieing beside one another." In a sickening gesture he licked some of the blood that was on his claws and Miyako's sword. "Mmm, tasty. Perhaps once I'm done I'll gather their blood so I can enjoy it against at a later time." Watching two of their friends dieing both Daisuke and Takeru were barely able to control themselves from rushing at Samuel blindly.

In most situations Daisuke would've been the first person to express his feelings about what was transpiring but surprisingly Takeru beat him to it. "Damn you Samuel! You killed off the two people that I considered my only remaining family." You could literally feel the hatred that Takeru was feeling. "I'll never forgive you for what you have done."

Putting all his focus on his enemy, Takeru went after Samuel. Too bad that even though he was being fueling by anger Takeru did little damage as he was caught in a crushing bear hug. Coming to the aid of his teammate, Daisuke hurried over in the hopes of releasing the hold. This would be futile as every time he tried to strike with his weapon it was easily avoided.

Becoming fed up with the annoying distraction; Samuel smacked Daisuke away with a simple backhand. With now only his left arm still wrapped around Takeru's body Samuel put his right arm on his chest and began to basically begin to bend Takeru backwards. Daisuke tried to get back to his feet but was unable to do so as the blow that he received took more out of him that he thought.

Even with the extreme pain that he had to be going through his body Takeru had a small smile on his face. "You may have stopped me and my friends Samuel but you'll never stop what we represent. We're the good that's inside of every living person and one of these days one of those people will take you done." To put an exclamation point to his statement he spit a bloody wad of saliva right between Samuel's eyes.

Enraged by that action, Samuel doubled his pressure that he was giving Takeru by bending his body even further back. The pain became so excruciating that Takeru could no longer hold in the scream of anguish. As he screamed his eyes locked on with Daisuke's.

"I'm sorry Daisuke. I shouldn't have gotten you involved in this. Now you'll suffer the same fate as we have. Please forgive me."

Before Daisuke even had a chance to respond, a sickening snapping sound was heard. The source of it was none other than Takeru's spine being broken in two as his body had been bent completely in half. With the deed completed Samuel dropped the crippled and lifeless body of his latest victim to the ground.

"Then there was only one." Slowly Samuel walked toward Daisuke who after witnessing the deaths of all those around him had went into shock. "It's a shame really that you're the only one left. I was hoping I would've gotten more of a challenge. But I guess I'll take my time with you to make it up."

As he walked over Daisuke just sat there as he tried to deal with what had just happen. An image of Ken getting impaled flashed in his head. "No." That image was soon replaced with one of Miyako being stabbed completely through her body. _"No."_ He then remembered the bent up body of Takeru. _"No."_ Suddenly an image of Hikari and his two kids flashed in his mind. But what made his blood run cold was what could be their mutilated bodies at the feet of the demonic Samuel. That seemed to bring Daisuke out of shock as his eyes regain focus. "NNOOO!!"

Getting back his composure Daisuke saw that he was no longer in the room with Samuel. Instead he was in a place that was completely white where nothing could be seen from any direction. "Where in the hell am I? What's going on?"

"I believe I can answer that." Hearing that voice Daisuke tried to find where it had come from but it sounded as though it was coming from everywhere. However, he wouldn't have to wait long as a large grayish cloud of smoke appeared in front of him. "Greetings Daisuke Motomiya, it's a pleasure to meet you again."

It didn't take long for Daisuke to figure out who the strange entity was. It was the same one that he came across when he had to do the judgment that was for the restoration of Hikari's life. "I remember who you are." Even though the entity did bring Hikari back to life it didn't mean that Daisuke fully trusted whatever it was. "What do you want with me? Wasn't I just about to be killed?"

"Yes you were and at the same time you weren't." Being totally confused by that answer Daisuke allowed the being to continue. "The world that you experienced was an illusion created by me in the hopes that it would help teach you an important lesson."

"And do pray tell what possible lesson could I have learn from what transpired?"

"Realizing how important you are."

Once again Daisuke was confused by that response. _"Could I just get a straight answer? Is that too much to ask?"_

"Ever since you were told about your protiential destiny from those Mystic scrolls you've been wondering if becoming a vampire was for the best for the world." Daisuke didn't even argue as he knew that it was true. "That's where that world you experienced comes in."

"You mean that everything in that world was a fake?" questioned Daisuke with regret in his voice. "Being an actual human? Having Takeru still alive? Actually being married to Hikari and having children? Was it all just made up?"

"In some parts they were but in some places they were foreshadowing of things to come. Regrettably I can't say which is which." Suddenly numerous images of what happened in the illusion appeared. "Of course what happened is just one of many versions on how things could've gone. The choice you now have is do you wish to go back into a world where your kind is not wanted?"

To Daisuke the choice was simple. "Send me back and return me to what I really am."

"If that's what you wish Daisuke Motomiya. You will return to your world with full knowledge of what transpired. Know that you're definitely a inique person and it was a pleasure to come across you." A blinding light flashed in Daisuke's eyes and once his vision returned he saw that he was in an entirely new place.

"Hey Daisuke, are you all right?" Looking to his side he saw that the person who called out to him was Ken. On closer examination he realized that the two of them were inside of his car and that he had on a pair of sunglasses on.

"Yeah, I'm fine Ken. Apparently I spaced out for a moment." There wasn't any point for him to mention anything that went on in that strange illusion. Besides, it might've made him sound crazy if he actually talked about it.

"That's good to know. We'll need you in fighting form if we're going to take out this vampire nest." Ken pointed over to the nearby warehouse and not too far off were Hikari, Miyako and Mimi.

"_So everything is back to what it once was. I'm…glad."_ Seeing the disgruntle look on his friend's face, Ken became a bit worried.

"Are you sure you're all right? You seem a little down."

"Of course I am." Right then the image of the family that he believed that would never happen appeared in his head. Quickly wiping away the tear that was about to come out Daisuke looked out the window. "I've never been better."

* * *

That was some chapter wasn't it? It was probably my longest one that I've done for this entire series. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed what happened and that it'll make you want to find out what'll happen next. Before you please go ahead and leave a review. I would really appreciate it. 


	3. Choices

Here you go readers. My first chapter of the new year and hopefully it'll be a good chapter to start off the year. First off, I'm glad to see that those who read the last two chapters liked what I did with them and hope you'll like this one as well. Now, for the disclaimer, I don't own digimon.  
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_Because you are in control of your life. Don't ever forget that. You are what you are because of the conscious and subconscious choices you have made.  
Barbara Hall, A Summons to New Orleans, 2000_

Chapter 3:  
Choices

On first glance it seemed as though it was any other night in the city of Kyoto. However, that wasn't the case as in one particular area it was anything but ordinary. "Miyako, look behind you." Spinning around Miyako was able to take out the oncoming vampire with a sword strike though the heart.

"Thanks for the lookout Ken."

Before Ken had the chance to reply she tacked him to the ground just as another vampire went sailing over their heads. "I guess that makes us even." joke Ken as he tried to regain his breath.

"You could say that." It was then that the two realize the position that they were in. With Miayko on top of him and both their faces just centimeters apart it seemed to enter their own world as they stared in one another's eyes. Slowly their faces inched toward one another. It appeared as though they were actually about to lock lips until a large crash happen near by.

Emerging from the pile of ruble was a battered Daisuke who didn't seem all that pleased. "Not to interrupt your little moment but do you mind lending a hand? It would be deeply appreciated."

Coming back to their senses Ken and Miyako went back into the fray where Hikari was handling herself quite well and Mimi was doing her fair share as she took a few vamps out with her bow and arrows.

As this went on one of the vampires tried to escape. This didn't go unnoticed as Daisuke went after him but had to move fast as the vamp had a good size lead on him. _"I have to move quickly. If I don't stop that vampire might escape and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if someone's life ends because of it."_

-/-/-/-/-

"_It looks as though I got away scot-free."_ Moving as fast as his feet would allow, the vampire that ran off appeared to have gotten away and was now using an abandoned alleyway to make his escape. Unfortunately for him as he was on the verge of freedom a crate came crashing down in his path.

Distracted by the unexpected even the vampire didn't notice that Daisuke had managed to catch up and before he could do anything to prevent what was to come, he was stake right in the heart resulting in him becoming nothing more than dust. Putting his stake away Daisuke did a quick look about the area as he felt like something was not right.

"Hey Daisuke, come on." shouted Mimi as she entered the scene. "We've took out the rest of the nest and we're doing one final sweep of the area before we head out. Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." Scanning the area one more time and finding nothing out of the norm Daisuke headed off to join his friends. But as he walked off he couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that he had. _"How did that crate fall to the ground? There's no way it could've fallen all on its own."_

-/-/-/-/-

"I guess that's the end of that." commented the person who was responsible for the crate falling as they walked out from the shadows. Once the person walked into the light it was revealed that the person was none other than Serenity. Keeping herself hidden she had witnessed what had transpired with Daisuke, his friends and the vampire group that they were fighting.

She saw the whole thing and had to admit that Daisuke and his friends had handled themselves quite well despite being out numbered. Then, when she saw one of the blood suckers trying to escape she decided to lend a hand. All Serenity did was create a good enough distraction so that her…father could take the vamp out. God, just thinking of the word 'father' was difficult for Serenity to do. _"Well, I've done my good deed for the day and now it's time for me to get moving."_

Climbing down the fire escape it looked like Serenity was going to make a clean getting away but was stopped when a large black van blocked her path. Immediately a group of six men, armed with rifles piled out and sounded her. Even with the seriousness of the situation, Serenity didn't seem all that concern.

"Come on now. Don't you Takenaka Corporation goons ever learn? This is starting to get pathetic." Raising their rifles, the now identified as men for the Takenaka Corporation readied themselves to fire if necessary.

"Serenity, by the orders of the Corporation you are ordered to be returned to their custody so can be rehabilitated." To further the statement they cocked their rifles in the ready position.

"Please. Who are you trying to kid? You won't kill me. I'm considered too valuable by your higher ups to be killed." As if proving her word she took two steps forwards which the men responded by taking two steps back.

"That may be the case." stated one of the armed men. "That's why these rifles only fire a tranquilizer that's strong enough to even knock you out. Now you have to decide if you really want to take us all on your lonesome?" To the men the choice was simple.

Serenity didn't say anything as it looked as though she was deciding what to do. Seemingly coming to a decision she did a quick look around at what she was up against. Slowly she lifted her hands as if to surrender. Believing that victory was there's one of the men went over to her.

No sooner did the man get close enough that Serenity knocked him out with one solid punch to the face. "I've come to a decision. If you want me so bad then come and get me." Accepting her challenge the sounds of shouting and gunshots could be heard. Then moments later those noises came to an end.

-/-/-/-/-

"What a day." Exiting the elevator a woman with shoulder length brown hair walked to her apartment, watching her footing as she had two large grocery bags blocking her view. Reaching her destination she opened the door and after turning the lights put the grocery bags in the kitchen before going to room to change into a clean pair of clothes. _"Work today was such a pain in the ass. There's nothing that could make today anymore stressful."_

The girl's thoughts were broken up when the sound of someone pounding against her door. "That's strange. I'm not expecting any company." Slowly the woman unlocked her door and when she peered through the crack to see who it was she immediately swung the door open.

Standing there on her doorstep was a battered and bloody Serenity who appeared as though she was on the verge of collapsing. "Good God, Serenity. What happen to you?"

On wobbly legs Serenity looked at the woman with unfocused eyes. "Jun. I…need your…help." With her strength apparently leaving her, Serenity collapsed to the ground in unconsciousness.

-/-/-/-/-

"Tonight has turned out to be quite a day wouldn't you say?" In a small coffee shop Daisuke was having himself a cup coffee but he wasn't having it alone.

I'll agree with you on that." answered Hikari as she sat across the table from Daisuke. "Taking out an entire vamp nest was definitely something and thankfully none of us got hurt." For a while neither of them said a word as they allowed the silence to come over them. "Daisuke, is it all right that I ask you a question?" Getting the nod from her friend Hikari continued. "Why were you so insistent that just the two of us go out for coffee?"

"Well, why not?" inquired Daisuke somewhat quickly. "After all, there's nothing wrong with a man and woman to go somewhere together. Why, do you have a problem with this?"

"No, of course not." was Hikari's quick reply. "It's silly really. For a moment I thought this was some kind of date or something like that."

Those words immediately struck Daisuke as it took a moment for him to recover. "Is that what you want? You want this to be a date?" He asked it so quietly that Hikari almost didn't hear him. "Not that I would complain if you do. It's just that I want to get things straight."

This time it was Hikari who took time to come up with an answer. "Perhaps I do." Once again silence developed over them only this time it was an uneasy one as the two of them were wondering where to go from there. Before either of them had the chance to say anything the sound of a phone ringing was heard. Realizing that the ringing was coming from his cell phone, Daisuke reached into his coat and pulled it out to answer it.

"Hell. This is Daisuke. May I ask whose calling?" For a while all that Hikari notice that whatever Daisuke and the person on the other line were talking about had to be an intense one as Daisuke's expression wasn't a happy one. When the conversation was apparently done he closed his cell phone and let out a groan of frustration. "I have to go. The person that called told me of something that needs to be dealt with right now. So, I'll just drop you off at home before I go deal with it."

"That's not necessary. I rather help you with whatever this problem is than going home." Hikari was shocked by what she said as she didn't know why she even said that.

"I got no time to argue about this Hikari. So if you wish to come then all right." Daisuke quickly paid for the drinks and headed for his car with Hikari a few steps behind him. "It's a shame really. This wasn't my idea of spending a date."

Whether he was serious or not, Daisuke's words had an affect on Hikari as it made her stop instantly in her tracks. "So we had a date?" She didn't get an answer as Daisuke continued to walk off. Putting the question away at the moment she hurried after her friend who seemed to be preoccupied with whatever that phone call was about.

-/-/-/-/-

Slowly Serenity opened her eyes and saw that she was lying on a bed and that all the injuries that she had received had been treated. "It's good to see that you're awake." Looking over at the doorway she spotted Jun Motomiya who had a bowl of water in one hand and fresh bandages in the other.

Sitting down at the edge of the bed she began to remove some Serenity's bloody bandages. "My word, what did you get yourself into? When you came stumbling at my door it looked as though you went through a war." Once removing the use bandages Jun redressed the wounds with fresh ones. "You better be fortunate that I was able to treat your injuries. If it was any longer you might not have made it."

"I'm thankful for you help, I truly am." replied Serenity as she dealt with the slight pain that she was still experiencing. "I didn't want to get you involved in my troubles when I got severely hurt there wasn't anyone else that I knew who could help me. Now, if you excuse me, I need to get going." Serenity tried to get up but wasn't able to do so as she winced in pain.

"Hey now, take it easy. You're still too weak from your injuries to be doing anything at the moment." instructed Jun as she kept Serenity from further hurting her injuries. "Until you rest up a bit you're not going anywhere."

As much as Serenity wanted to argue she regrettably couldn't come up with anything as she knew what Jun was saying was true. _"Damn it, she's right. In my condition I couldn't get out of bed let alone walk out of here. At lease there's nothing that I need to worry about."_ Seemingly jinxing herself, Serenity wouldn't be getting that stress free time.

"Well, isn't this an unexpected surprise?" At the doorway was none other than Daisuke Motomiya and not that far behind him was Hikari Kamiya. "I had a feeling that I wasn't going to like this when I got your call Jun but I had no idea that it was going to be this. To be more precise, that it would involve her." Obviously there was some bitterness in Daisuke's voice, knowing the history between the two.

Not liking the situation any better, Serenity once again tried to get up but just like before the pain prevente4d her form doing so. "I'm not any happier about this then you are. But as you can I wasn't left with many other options."

As the two continued their banter Jun finally stepped in. "Okay, what's going on here? Do the two of you know each other?" It was then that Daisuke and Serenity remembered that Jun had no knowledge of the connection that the two of them shared.

"Jun, could you excuse us for a moment?" asked Daisuke in a calm and even voice. "There's something that Serenity and I need to discuss." Being told what to do obviously didn't sit too well with Jun as she appeared to be on the verge of hitting someone.

"Now hold it right there my dead younger brother. I don't care what you've become. This is my home and I think I have as much right to know what's going as anybody." Even with the advantage that he clearly had over her, Daisuke actually backed away from his angry older sister.

Watching as the scene transpired Hikari couldn't help but find it amusing. _"Some strong vampire he is. He's still cowers whenever Jun get's on him like this. I guess even with all that has gone on with those two they still treat each other like brother and sister."_

Coming to the realization that there was no way to convince Jun otherwise, Daisuke gave in. "Jun, I like to properly introduce you to Serenity. …My daughter."

It took Jun a few moments to fully register what her brother said. But when it finally did she looked at him in complete confusion. "What?!"

-/-/-/-/-

"What do you have to report?" At one of the computer centers of the Takenaka Corporation a group of people were hard at work in the hopes of finding a particular someone.

"I have good news. We were fortunate to have the tracer that's on the target to work long enough to find her latest location." Turning on one of the monitors it revealed a layout of Kyoto with a blinking red dot on one particular area. "We've been able to trace the target within a one mile radius of this highlighted area."

"That's very good. Inform the men to get prepared to capture and transport the target. We can't allow the target to escape again or we'll suffer the wrath of the higher ups. Also tell them the men to be ready to eliminate any obstacle that get's in their way. We're not going to hold anything back."

-/-/-/-/-

"Daughter?! You're seriously telling me that Serenity is your daughter?" Daisuke just answered with a nod of the head. What Jun asked next nearly floored everyone. "Then does that mean that Hikari's the mother?"

Daisuke was at a loss for words and Hikari was blushing madly. Trying to get rid of his own blush Daisuke attempted to explain. "No, Hikari's not the mother. Not that I would mind if that was the case." That remark earned him a confused looked from Hikari that he couldn't tell what the meaning behind it was. Getting back to the matter at hand he continued with his explanation.

"After my first run in with the Takenaka Corporation they were some how able to use some of my blood to create a person that would be able to take me on. That someone was none other than Serenity." Jun could hardly believe what she just heard. She turned to Serenity to see if she could possibly deny what was said. All she got though was said girl looking away with some disappointment on her face. "Don't be upset with her sis. Those bastards kept pounding it into her head that I was one of the bad guys. You can't really blame her for thinking like that. After all, a good vampire, with a soul none the less, sounds a little farfetched if you think about it."

"Don't be defending me." spoke Serenity from the bed. "Do you think I need you to defend me for my actions? I don't think so." Pushing down the pain she pushed herself to the sitting position. "I'll admit that there are some things that I regret doing. But it doesn't mean that I'm going to go all do-gooder like you try to be. We may share the same blood but that doesn't mean we're the same."

If Daisuke was offended by Serenity's words he didn't show it as he kept the same expression that he always had. "Now that's no way to talk to your father. But I guess I can't be all that surprise. I mean, you've been with the Takenaka Corporation for all this time."

"I'm not with them anymore." That bit of news caught everyone's attention. "I began to doubt them and the so called higher ups. So with the help of a friend I was able to escape. For the past week I've been on the run from them, doing everything that I could do to stay one step ahead of them. Unfortunately for me they were finally able to get the better of my yesterday." She pointed to the various injuries that she had. "Having no other choice I went to the only person that I could trust and that was Jun."

Daisuke was about to say something but was interrupted by Hikari. "How were they able to find you? Has someone been following you? I mean, they must've had some way of finding where you have been."

It was then that Serenity seemingly acknowledged Hikari's presence. "That's quite clever of you figuring that out. Yes, they've been keeping track of me but not in the usual way." Scooting over to the edge of the bed she motioned to her left shoulder. "While I was escaping they were able to hit me with what appears to be some kind of tracking device."

Walking over, Daisuke removed the bandage that was on her shoulder to reveal a small gapping hole. On closer examination he could faintly see a blinking light inside the wound. "Fortunately from what I could gather it's been on the malfunctioning thus making them lose track of me and when they get it back they can only get the general location of where I am."

This bit of information obviously didn't sit well with Daisuke as he tried to maintain his anger. "Jun, I need to ask you a favor. Could you possibly remove that tracer from Serenity's shoulder?"

"Perhaps I could. I mean, I know basic first aid but I believe I can wing it if need be." Jun didn't like the feeling that she was getting. "Of course I'm not making any promises."

Reaching into his pocket Daisuke pulled out his cell phone and began to press some numbers. "As you're doing that I'll be calling for backup."

-/-/-/-/-

"Okay. Relax; wait for it and when it comes got for it." Doing as instructed Miyako waited for the right moment and when she saw the opportunity to 'go for it' she did so. With the swing of her bat she sent the baseball all the way to the other side of the batting cage. After repeating a few more times she exited the cage to join up with Ken.

"That was so much fun. I never figured that these Earth base sporting things would be so amusing." Not being able to ignore the excitement that was coming from his companion, Ken couldn't help but smile.

"I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself. I had a feeling that you'd enjoy a night at the amusement park. Just remind me to never get you angry at me when you have a bat." he joked. "Wouldn't want you to try and use my head as a baseball."

To his surprise, Miyako looped her arm around his and lean her head against his shoulder. "Don't worry. I believe I won't be angry with you for quite sometime." The two of them were so consumed with themselves that they didn't realize that both of their cell phones were on silence.

-/-/-/-/-

"Damn. They're not answering." informed Daisuke. "Hikari, you got Mimi's number on speed dial so try to get a hold of her." Following her friend's request Hikari attempted to contact Mimi. "She might not be the best fighter but she'll make a different."

-/-/-/-/-

"Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"Of course I'm sure." Hoisting a box up, Mimi placed it on a near by shelf. "I think you know me well enough that I'm willing to help those who are friends of mine. Aren't you one of my friends James?" Mimi was currently at the market that James and his aunt Helen owned. At the moment she was helping James restock the shelves after the store's closing hours.

"Of course we're friends." James quickly answered. "We've gotten o know one another pretty well for the past few months. Although I kind of hope we would go beyond just being friends." That last part was mostly a whisper to himself but unfortunately Mimi heard him clearly.

"What did you mean by that James?" Mimi turned around to look at him but loss her balance on the stool that she was standing on. Seeing that she was going to fall, James rushed over and was able to grab her before she hit the ground. "Hey there now, watch where you're going. I might not be there to catch you."

For a moment Mimi looked at James with an admired stare. "Thanks for the save. I'll do my best t o watch where I step so you won't always have to catch me. Not that I'm complaining or anything." It was then that the two of them realize how close they were to one another. Slowly they got closer to the point that their faces were mere inches from each other. Unable to resist the urge any longer Mimi and James began to kiss one another. They were so absorbed with what they were doing that they didn't notice that Mimi's cell phone was vibrating.

-/-/-/-/-

After getting no response, Hikari hung up her phone. "It looks as though Mimi's going to be a no show as well." That didn't sit well with Daisuke but was able to keep himself in control. Switching the attention away from him, she looked towards Jun. "How are things progressing?"

"They're progressing nicely, all things considering." Of course what Jun was referring to was her attempting to surgically remove the tracer that was embedded in Serenity's shoulder. "The process of removing this tracer is an easy thing to do but it has to be done slowly so not to cause any further damage to her wound. Fortunately she's so out of it that she hardly feels a thing." Jun was clearly talking about Serenity who was laying on her stomach on top of the bed totally conked out due to all the alcohol that she had drank to numb the pain.

"Well do the best that you can." informed Daisuke. "The quicker that tracer is removed from her shoulder the better for us to make sure that we don't have any unwelcome company." Just as those words left his mouth, they hear the sound of vehicles screeching to a stop.

Peering outside the window Daisuke saw two black vans coming to a stop right in front of the apartment building. "Unfortunately it looks as though we won't be getting that luxury." Knowing what was to come he patted himself in the hopes of finding a weapon. When he found none he couldn't help but let out a few curses. "Damn it. I knew I should've brought some kind of weapon in case something like this happened. Hikari, watch over Jun and Serenity for me while I take care of business."

"The hell you are." mumbled Serenity who was somewhat out of her drunken state. "There's no way I'm allowing you to fix up my mess." She attempted to get back to her feet but immediately collapsed back down. "Just give me a moment and I'll be ready to get my hands dirty."

Daisuke could clearly see through his daughter's façade. "Who are you trying to fool? We both know that you're in no condition to do any kind of fighting. For once do as your father ask and stay here while I handle this." He hurried out of the room and was about to turn the doorknob to the front door until he suddenly stopped. "There's nothing you can do to stop me from going through with this Hikari."

Indeed it was Hikari as she stood behind him. "Don't worry Daisuke. I know you well enough to realize that there's nothing that I can say to change your mind." What Hikari wanted to say next must've been difficult for her to express as it took her sometime to let it out. "Just do your best to come out of this alive. Well, in a matter of speaking."

Moving away from the door, Daisuke turned to his friend. "Don't worry yourself over me. Sunrise is still not for a few hours, so I'm safe from the sunlight. Besides…" Reaching over he placed a hand on each of Hikari's shoulders. "…I have plenty to fight for."

Going back to the matter at hand he headed out of the apartment and rushed down the stairs. When Daisuke reached the bottom he was greeted by a group of armored men who were not armed with not only rifles but also nightsticks that on the end of them were stakes. "Apparently you guys were ready for me. Unfortunately for you…" With a serious expression, his face went vamp. "…I'm ready as well."

* * *

This was an interesting chapter wasn't it? I know that when I did the previous two chapters I somewhat left the situation with Serenity in the air so I feel that this was a good way to get back to that plot point. 

As you may have already figured out there'll be of course there'll be another chapter that'll be connected with this one and just to give you a little hint about it, a very big incident will happen that you should probably not miss.

Anyways, that's all of it and be kind by leaving a review before leaving.


	4. Choosing

Another month has passed and so here's another chapter to my series. I won't make this author note that long but let's just say that there'll be some interesting situations that'll take place within this chapter. Anyways, here is the chapter and as for the disclaimer, I don't own digimon.

* * *

Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.  
Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

Chapter 4:  
Choosing

"Are you almost done yet?" asked an irate Serenity. When she was able to comprehend what was going on along with her coming out of her drunkenness she waited for the opportunity to get involved in the fight.

"I'm almost done. Just give me a little more time." Despite the distractions that were going on all around her, Jun managed to keep focus on the matter at hand as she tried to get the tracer out of the shoulder of what she discovered to be her niece. _"I still find it hard to believe it. I have a niece who's only a few years younger than me. Perhaps I shouldn't be all that surprise. After all, my younger brother is a vampire."_ Switching her attention back to the matter at hand she was on the verge of completing her objective.

With one final tug the tracer came out. "There we go. I finally got this damn thing out." Patching up the wound in Serenity's shoulder, Jun handed the device to her niece. Looking at the tracer in disgust Serenity clenched her hand tightly around it to the point where it actually crumbled in her grasp.

"Now with that out of the way I can join in the fight." Standing on wobbly legs Serenity tried to step outside but was stopped by Hikari. "It would be wise for you to step aside. I don't have anything against you but I'm willing to move you if I have to." Even being issued that threat, Hikari stood her ground.

"You're not going anywhere. Daisuke put me in charge of watching over you and Jun while he's handling what's going on downstairs." she explained in a calming voice. "Trust me, he can handle whatever comes." As to disapprove her statement, they were practically ambushed as numerous men came barging in from not only the doorway but through the windows. With the numerous arsenal pointed directly at them all they could do was whatever they were told.

"My, isn't this a surprise." Stepping out from between the men was none other than Hitomi Mitchell, one of the big time players for the Takenaka Corporation. "I must say that it's a pleasure to see you again Serenity." Realizing that this woman was the same one that she met while she made her escape Serenity couldn't help but be shock.

"What are you doing here? Last time I saw you, you were fighting these guys with Rowan so I could escape. Why are you working _with_ them? And what happen to Rowan?" Serenity hoped to at lease get an answer to her last question since she was very close with Rowan.

Noticing the concern that was shown on the target's face, Hitomi smiled in satisfaction. "If you wish to find out, follow me and don't do anything crazy. That is unless you want your companions to suffer for your insolence."

With no other choice being presented before her, Serenity conceded to the demands. Following Hitomi the two of them exited the apartment and walked up the flight of stairs. Not that far behind was Hikari and Jun who were being force to follow by the armed men. Soon all of them where on the roof and they weren't the only ones as not far off was even more armed men but what caught everyone's attention was in front of the men was a tied up woman. While Hikari and Jun didn't know who the woman was, Serenity knew exactly who it was.

"Oh my God, Rowan." Serenity tried to rush over to her captive friend but was stopped when Hitomi stepped in her way.

"Now hold it right there. Take another step and we won't be held responsible for Miss Rowan's well being." With great restraint Serenity did as she was told. "Not to be ungrateful but I really should be tanking the two of you. If it weren't for you freeing me while you two were trying to escape I wouldn't have had the opportunity to get back in the good graces with the higher ups by handing over one of the escapees. Imagine what kind of gratitude that they'll show me once I bring you back to them." You could almost feel the conceit in Hitomi's voice. "So come on now, hand yourself over and we'll be on our way."

Instead of following Hitomi's demands, Serenity stood her ground. "Don't be so stubborn. You don't want your friends to pay the price for you being all uncooperative do you?" That seemed to get through to Serenity as she took a few regrettable steps forward. She was about to hand herself over until someone spoke up.

"Don't do it Serenity." screamed Rowan. "Please don't hand yourself over to them. Forget about me and get your friends out of here." Not liking what she was saying one of the guards pressed their rifle against her back. Despite the obvious warning that she was being presented before her, Rowan didn't back down. "You know as well as I do Serenity that if you go back to the higher ups they'll turn you into something that you never wanted to be. You'll become a weapon for killing and deep down I know you don't want to become that."

What happen next took nearly everyone by complete surprise as Hitomi pulled out a hand gun which she used as she turned around and fired right at Rowan's heart. Time seem to go into slow motion for Serenity as she watched the person that was close to her crumble to the ground in a heap. As much as she wanted to deny it she knew that by the blood that was oozing from her chest wound and mouth as well as the lifeless stare that was in her eyes that Rowan was dead.

"She should've kept her opinion to herself." remarked Hitomi in a half hearted tone as she put her gun away. "Oh well. Now be a good girl and come with us quietly." Serenity seemed to not hear what was being said as she continued to stare at Rowan's dead body. "If you don't come with us then someone might end up like your dead friend."

That apparently was what it took to bring Serenity out of her daze state as she switched her gaze towards Hitomi. If looks could kill then Hitomi would be dead several times over with the glare that Serenity was giving her. "What's with the look? Upset that I shot your friend Rowan? Don't be since she was no one important."

As soon as those words were said it was as though it flipped some sort of switch for Serenity as she tackled Hitomi to the ground. "No one important?!" shouted Serenity with absolute hatred in her voice. "She _was_ someone important. She was the closes ting that I had to a family and you took her life away." She put an exclamation pint to her words by repeatedly punching Hitomi in the face. "Now, 8I'll take yours away."

Before Serenity could accomplish that declaration she was knocked away by some of Hitomi's men. Getting back to her feet, Hitomi wiped the blood from her busted lip. "My, that's some temper you have there. You definitely get that from your father." The expression of the wounded woman switched from a somewhat humorous look to one of absolute hatred. "Kill them all."

After some struggle the men were able to force Serenity against the wall where she was joined by Hikari and Jun. Placed basically in the firing squad position, the three young women awaited for the end to come. Raising their rifles the guards readied themselves for the order to commence. "Ready…aim…fire." On that command all of the rifles were fired.

All three women closed their eyes as they waited for their lives to draw to a close. Only it didn't come as someone stepped in front of them. Right in front of them was none other than Daisuke Motomiya as he spread his arms out in danger's path.

Seeing who it was Hikari rushed over to his side. "I'm so glad to see you Daisuke. I had no doubt that you come and help us." Unfortunately, soon after those words were spoken a grimace of pain came across Daisuke's face as he fell to a knee. "Daisuke, what's wrong?" It was then that Hikari caught a clear sight of her friend's condition. All over his entire body were multiple gunshot wounds that he received for protecting them. "Oh God, Daisuke you're hurt." Somewhat of a shock, Daisuke actually chuckled.

"I can see that Hikari. Fortunately I'll be okay in time." He really didn't help prove his words as he spat some blood from his mouth. "After all, I'm a vampire, meaning that I won't die because of a few gunshot wounds." He stopped calling for a moment as he groan in pain. "But that doesn't mean that it isn't any less painful." He was obviously trying to lie about the seriousness of his injuries as while he was bent over his blood fell from the numerous gunshot wounds that he received.

"Well, don't the surprises keep on coming." mocked Hitomi. "Hello Daisuke. It's been a while hasn't it?" She was clearly referring to when they were both after the Mystic Scrolls.

"Yes. Yes it has." Daisuke stopped for a moment as he spat another bloody wad of spit from his mouth. "Honestly, it wasn't long enough."

Not showing any sign of hurt from his words, Hitomi spoke. "I should be thankful that you showed up Daisuke. In all tense and purposes it was your fault that I was tortured all those months in the Takenaka Corporation holding cells. I mean, it was because of you taking the Mystic Scrolls that I was supposed to obtain that I was punished."

Reaching back for her handgun she waved it back and forth above Daisuke's head. "But in the end it may have been for the best as it gave me enough incentive to torture you severely before putting you out of your misery." To get under her nemesis' skin even more she leaned over so that she could whisper something that only he would be able to hear.

"Before I start there's something you should know. Once I'm done with you I'll start with your friends and daughter. When they beg for me to end their suffering, then and only then will I end their lives." Back away Hitomi wanted to see the expression on Daisuke face but it wasn't the only that she was expecting.

Instead of an expression of sorrow and dread, it was one that couldn't really be identified as it showed no sigh of any kind of emotion. Finally, Daisuke spoke up. "You want to bring up past history? So be it then." On shaky legs the wounded vampire got back to his feet.

"If my memory serves me correctly I believe I told you what I would do if you ever went after my friends and family again. What was it again? Oh yes, I believe it was that I would make your life a type of hell that you could ever imagine." A sinister expression suddenly came across Daisuke's face. "Now ask yourself this. Are you willing to go ahead with your plans and if so, to accept the consequences that come with them?"

At that time it seemed like Daisuke's threats were finally starting to get to Hitomi as her smug look began to falter. Slowly she started to back away. "I don't have time for this." Turning around she headed for the stairway. Before going down she turned to one of the guards. "Take care of them. Make sure you don't allow any of them to get away." With that said Hitomi headed down the stairs, leaving the up to her men.

"All right now. Everyone line up so we can deal with you quickly." explained the man that had talked to Hitomi before she departed. To make sure that the demand was followed the guards tried to use intimidation by poking their rifles at Hikari and Jun.

As for Serenity, they tried to do the same thing but it proved to be pointless as she was in what appeared to be some sort of comatose state beside the lifeless body of Rowan. All they needed to do was basically drag her about. Finally it came to Daisuke, who amazingly was still able to stand despite the pain that he had sustained. Fortunately he was able to keep his composure even with most of the weapons that the enemy had been pointed at him.

"Didn't you hear what I said? Get a move on."

With a seldom look Daisuke cast his sight at the man. "What if I don't? Remember, those guns can't kill me." Hearing that didn't seem to bother the man. In fact, he seemed to actually glad to get his authority challenge. "Oh, we know that. But can you say the same for everyone else?" Proving the seriousness the man aimed his rifle at Hikari. Following his actions, all the men who had a rifle pointed them at the others hostages. "Do you still want to defy us?"

Apparently giving in to the demands, Daisuke started to walk off until without warning struck one of the nearby men and grabbed his rifle which he aimed at everyone. "Looks like the tables have turned. Now go ahead and put down your weapons before I get trigger happy." His demand went on dead ears as none of the men did as he said. "Don't forget, your guns won't kill you but the one that I got will kill you." To drive his point home he cocked the gun and was prepared to fire. Is anyone now having second thoughts about doing what I say?" This time there were some that did as he instructed.

"You actually think I'll do what you say?" questioned the lead man in defieance. "All we have to do to make you do what we want is threaten your friends." Daisuke could tell that the man was serious about his threat.

"Oh, you could do that but know this. If you so much as lay a finger on any of them I'll make you suffer more than you could ever imagine. Trust me, I could come up with stuff that not even your higher ups could come up with." Even with the direct threat most of the men still stood their ground. Getting fed up with their stubbornness Daisuke went ahead and fired a couple of rounds right at their feet.

"I'm giving you fair warning. Leave now without trouble and I won't have to use this new toy of mine again and believe me, I won't miss on purpose again. Do we have an understanding?" That seemed to finally sink in for the men as all of them began to head out. Before they left completely however, Daisuke had one more thing to say. "Also, tell your bosses to never come after my daughter again or they'll regret it."

"And what right do you have to make such a threat?"

Marching right up to the man that spoke, Daisuke grabbed him and pulled him just inches from his now vampire face. "Her father, that's who." Having said what he wanted to say he let the man and the rest of his associates to hightail it. With no other distractions around, en-soul vampire went ahead and checked on the friend and sister. "Are you guys all right?" Getting the nods of reassurance from them he let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear."

No sooner did he say that Daisuke collapsed to the ground. Worried about her friend's condition, Hikari rushed to his aide. "Oh my God, Daisuke say something." He didn't say anything as he just laid there. _"Okay, calm down Hikari. He isn't gone. If he was he would be nothing more than ash. But he isn't breathing."_ Hikari had to smack herself in the head for that comment. _"Of course he's not breathing. Vampires don't have to breathe."_

Thankfully Daisuke began to stir and actually open his eyes. "Damn. I guess all that punishment took more out of me than I thought. Of course, that's not surprising seeing as how the majority of my body is covered in bullets. Luckily for me I don't have to go through a metal detector or I would make it blow a gasket." Obviously that last part was Daisuke's weak attempt to lighten the tension of the situation.

To his relief that seemed to have worked as a sigh of relief came over Hikari. _"I'm so glad to see that he's all right with all things considering. To be honest I've never been so relief to hear that someone was going to be okay, which I believe scares me more than what has happen today."_ Putting that thought aside she helped to get Daisuke back to his feet. With her assistance he went over to his sister.

"Hey sis, how are you holing up?" It was clear to see that Daisuke cared more about his sister's well being over his own.

"I'm fine if you ignore the bruises that I received." Soon a seldom look came across Jun's face. "But I believe we have a more pressing matter at hand." It wasn't hard for everyone to know what Jun was referring to as they turned their glances toward Serenity who still appeared to be out of it as she knelt beside Rowan's dead body.

Pushing himself away from Hikari, Daisuke tentatively went over to his daughter in the hopes of comforting her in someway. Crouching down he placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. "I'm deeply sorry about your loss." Finally it seemed like Serenity was coming back to her senses as she turned her attention towards him.

She tried to give him a menacing glare but it proved pointless as she was struggling to keep her composure. Not being able to hold it in any longer, Serenity broke down and actually collapsed onto Daisuke. Taken momentarily off guard by his estranged daughter's sudden action, Daisuke managed to recover as he wrapped his arms around her as he allowed her to weep.

"That's it, let it all out." consoled Daisuke. "Cry to your heart's content. Take all the time that you need." No one said a word as they allowed the moment between father and daughter play out.

-/-/-/-/-

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Soon after she returned Hitomi was sent to meet with the higher ups. "You cause mass chaos, killed a person that was still useful to us, attempted to kill a person that we deemed forbidden and you drove off Serenity from possibly rejoining us." listed one of the male higher ups with a very displease tone. "Did we forget to mention anything else?"

Not daring to reply with words, Hitomi just shook her head. She knew that soon after leaving the Takenaka Corporation's men to deal with Daisuke and the others that she would have to deal with the consequences. In the end she just prayed that she would make it out of whatever was to come in one piece.

"You have proven to be a very impressive commodity to this company." Hearing that somewhat ease the tension that Hitomi was feeling as she believed that things would turn out all right. "However, you recent failures have greatly outweighed your success. We even allowed you a second chance to redeem yourself and so far you haven't done anything to make us think otherwise." The dread that Hitomi was feeling early started to return. "The question that needs to be asked is what we should do with you?"

This was the moment that Hitomi was worried about. She knew about all of the rumors about the types of punishment that they have given to those who had let the corporation down. Hopefully she wouldn't have to find out if there wasn't any truth behind those rumors. Suddenly, Hitomi started to feel extremely hot.

It continued to get hotter and when she looked down at her feet she saw what the cause was. At her feet were flames that were moving up her body as it began to consume her. Try as she might Hitomi could not stop the flames from spreading.

"We have come to a decision and that decision is that you be fire." In one horrendous scream Hitomi's entire body was consumed by flames. Those flames continued until there was nothing left of her. "Or to be more precise, set on fire." joked one of the higher ups in some sadistic humor. "Now that we have dealt with that little hindrance we should discuss about what we should do with the Serenity problem. Should we send another tactical team to retrieve her?"

"No we will not. For the time being let her be." answered the female higher up. "When the time comes we'll decide what we should do with her." That seemed to be a good enough answer for her cohorts. "Currently we have more important plans to prepare for so while we're getting everything ready we'll get someone to deal with Motomiya and his companions until we see it fit for them to be involved. Believe me, what I have planned for Motomiya will make him thing twice about his actions."

-/-/-/-/-

Two Days Later…

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?" That had to be about the hundredth time he was asked that question. After being asked so many times was starting to get on his nerves.

"Yes, I'm fine Hikari." answered an annoyed Daisuke. "I appreciate your concern, truly I do. But I'm telling you I'm okay. Of course, I sometimes still feel like a walking pile of led." Obviously Daisuke was referring to when he was recently shot up by the Takenaka Corporation's tactical team. Thankfully with the help of his sister Jun they were able to remove all of the bullets that were embedded in his body without much trouble. Although there were moments that he still felt some lingering pain.

"Apparently we miss out on a lot." muttered Ken. The day after the big event, Ken Miyako and Mimi were informed about what happen and once they knew they felt a bit ashamed. "I think I speak for the girls and myself when I say sorry. We should've been there to help you. Maybe if we were there we might've been able to save that woman."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, you guys must've had some important stuff to do if you weren't able to answer your phones." Recalling their reasons for not answering their calls the three of them couldn't help but to blush slightly. "In the end everything turned out all right, with an unfortunate exception that is." Knowing what Daisuke was referring to no one said a word.

"How do you think coping with the situation?" asked Mimi. She was obviously talking about Serenity, who ever since what happened had shut herself off from everyone.

"She's handling it as well as expected." Daisuke answered in all honesty. "The one person that she trusted without any doubt was killed right in front of her eyes. It'll take time for her to deal with it, if she ever does I mean." The discussion was cut short as a knock at the door could be heard. Being the closes person to the door, Hikari went to see who it was. It was revealed that the person that was at the door was some delivery man. After signing the handling paper she took what the man had come to deliver before going back to the others.

"You got a delivery Daisuke." Handing the item over Daisuke saw that it was a large envelope. Opening it up Daisuke spilled the contents onto the table. Inside was a smaller envelope, a somewhat bulky folder and a single sheet of paper with writing on it.

Picking up the piece of paper he quickly read what was written. Once reading the paper he picked up the small envelope and everyone could see that there was someone's name written on the bottom of the paper. Moments later Daisuke grabbed all the items and headed for the door. "I need to go guys. There's something that I need to do." Not waiting for his friend's response, Daisuke opened the door and was about to step outside until he quickly backed up. "Damn it!"

Understanding what the problem was, Hikari went over to him. "Perhaps you should let me take you to where you need to go. It'll be hard for you to go anywhere if you're trying to avoid being in the sunlight." With no other choice Daisuke agreed with her offer.

Keep an eye out for any trouble and call us if there is anything important." Having said that both Daisuke and Hikari headed out to where they needed to go.

-/-/-/-/-

"She's been copped up in her room all this time and has only come out to go to the bathroom or get something to eat and she rarely does that." informed a concerned Jun to Daisuke after he showed up. "She hardly says a word and what she does say it's mostly grunts or shot answers. I'm starting to worry about her."

"Hopefully that's where I come in." replied Daisuke in the hopes that it would in someway help to ease the worry that her sister was feeling. "Let's just hope though that we don't try to beat the shit out of each other." Leaving Hikari to stay with Jun, Daisuke headed to the desired room. "Remember, no matter what you hear do not come in. This is something that I need to be done on my own."

Slowly Daisuke entered the room and he immediately saw that the entire room was consumed in darkness as there was hardly any light coming in. Another thing that he saw was that sitting on the bed, with their back towards him was Serenity. Bit by bit he walked over to his rebellious daughter and if she noticed him he Serenity didn't show it as she just sat in the same spot in her bed.

"So, how have you been doing?" He only got silence as his answer. "I've been doing okay. Even though I still feel like I was shot by several guns."

"Did you come here for something or are you trying to annoy me to death?" questioned Serenity who was obviously in no mood to play any games. Picking up on her unsubtle hint Daisuke got to the matter at hand.

"Listen. I know you're hurting right now and I don't mean just physically." Tempting fate he sat down beside his daughter. "You have loss someone that was very close to you. What's worse, you weren't able to stop it from happening. Believe me, I know how that feels." Clearly he was referring to what had happen with Takeru and how he sacrificed himself.

"You probably think that I'm here to tell you that in time that the pain will go away. But I'm not." For a moment Daisuke thought he saw Serenity's eyes widened for a moment but he wasn't sure. "You should never forget about the pain that you have experienced. Let it always be a reminder that the lives of those we hold dear are precious and you should do everything in your power to protect those lives." Peering over to his daughter, Daisuke was unable to tell whether or not his words actually got through to Serenity.

"Jun told me how the two of you met. How you save her from a group of vampires then giving yourself over to a Takenaka Corporation tactical team in exchange for her safety. I truly appreciate you doing that. It also shows that the higher ups are wrong about you. They wanted you to be nothing more than a weapon and to do their every bidding. But you have proved that they were wrong." Those words seemed to finally get through to Serenity as she turned her head towards him which allowed him to see that her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying that she had done.

"On more than one occasion you have shown honor, courage and compassion to both all and enemy. You may not like to admit it or not but we're practically the same. The blood that flows through me flows through you as well. We both feel as though that this city, hell this world isn't what it's supposed to be. There's darkness in this world, both human and demon who try to make it harsh and unbearable. That's why there are champions in this world who try to make the world as it should be. Like me and perhaps one day you be one of those people too."

Having said all that he wanted to say Daisuke got up and was prepared to leave but before doing so he placed the giant envelope that he received earlier to Serenity. "I believe that there's something in there that you may find interesting." Opening the door he headed out of the room, leaving his daughter alone with her thoughts.

For who knows how long Serenity just sat there doing nothing. Soon curiosity got the better of her as she reached over to the envelope and pulled out a smaller one. On closer examination she saw written on that envelope was her name. Tearing it open she pulled out a letter. When she started to read what was written she could hardly believe what was in the letter.

_**Dear Serenity,**_

_**If you are reading this letter than that means that I have unfortunately passed on. You may be wondering why this was delivered to Daisuke. The reason is because he was the only one I knew that would give you this letter.**_

_**Please note that included is a folder. In it is all of my accounts which I had which I now give to you to do whatever you wish to do with them. Do not worry about the Takenaka Corporation finding out about them as they have no knowledge of them. Totaled all together they'll give you enough funds to allow you to live off for quite sometime.**_

_**Seriously though do not blame yourself for my untimely death. I lived a full life with barely anything for me to look back on. Perhaps the only thing that I truly regret was not telling you everything sooner and hopefully you are able to forgive me from doing so.**_

_**At this moment you might be wondering what you should do with yourself and I hope you don't take offense by this but I think you should consider working alongside your father. Before you say anything please let me explain. I believe that he might be the one who can lead you down you the path that you are truly destined for.**_

_**In conclusion, I wish you the best of luck in your future. You are an incredible young woman Serenity and I have no doubt that you'll have a tremendous destiny ahead of you. Also, I may have told you this already but if it was possible I would have been grateful for you being my daughter. May you live a long and tremendous life.**_

_**Sincerely yours,  
**__**Rowan Stevens**_

Carefully placing the letter back into its envelop Serenity wiped away the tears that remained in her blood shot eyes. The words that she read kept repeating in her head and no matter how hard she tried to she couldn't ignore it. Finally regaining her composure she slowly exited the room where her father Daisuke, his friend Hikari and her aunt Jun were waiting. Putting on her tough guy front she walked right over to where she was standing right in front of the vampire.

"Let's make things perfectly clear. I'm willing to work alongside you but that does not mean that I'm going to start liking you. It's just that if I had to choose between siding with you or having to going back to the sons of a bitches who killed one of the few people that I trusted I'll pick the lesser of the two evils." Even with the seriousness that was behind Serenity's words, Daisuke didn't show much reaction.

"If that's the way you feel then so be it. Perhaps in time we can trust each other and maybe even become an actually family." He would just get a look of disbelief on Serenity's face. "Putting that aside for the time being, where are you planning on staying? Because if you want you could stay at my place, at least until you get more used to the situation."

"Thanks for the offer but I must decline. Don't take it wrong but I'm not ready to fix the tension that's between us anytime soon. Besides, thanks to my late surrogate mother Rowan, I'm financially set for quite sometime so I can find a place of my own. Of course, it may prove to be difficult seeing as how there isn't any official record of my existence."

"Perhaps I could help you with that problem." Getting into the conversation was Jun Motomiya. "If you don't mind you might consider living with me."

"You think that's a wise move Jun?" questioned Hikari. "For all we know the Takenaka Corporation could still come after Serenity and if that were to happen you may get caught in the crossfire."

"Look around you Hikari. This place is in shambles from when they attacked last time." Even though it has been sometime since the whole incident, the apartment still looked a complete wreck. "I believe it's time for me to move somewhere else. Anyhow, my brother put not really the fear of God but the next best thing into those men. So I don't think they'll be showing themselves anytime soon." Daisuke let a small smile come out when he thought back to that moment. "Also, I'll have one of the toughest people in the world living with me. That is of course if it's okay with you Serenity."

Quickly recovering from the unexpected suggestion, Serenity spoke up. "That's all right with me. It may prove to be interesting and with the exception of Rowan you're the only other person that I trust. Hopefully with luck I'll discover that I take more after my aunt and not my thick headed father."

Being taken by complete surprise by the unforeseen rib both Jun and Hikari could not help but to chuckle while Daisuke had an annoyed look on his face. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." Jun said after she stopped laughing for the moment. "But you apparently have his sense of humor along with his courage."

-/-/-/-/-

"Do you really think that it's wise for them to go ahead with this idea?"

"Maybe it is and maybe it's not Hikari. But it's not up to us to decide." exclaimed Daisuke. Currently both he and Hikari were driving down the streets of Kyoto. "As of right now, Serenity really doesn't trust anyone except my sister." Daisuke couldn't help but be little upset about it but there was nothing that he could do about it at the moment. "Hopefully as time goes by she'll come to trust the rest of us."

Not much later they arrived at their destination which was Hikari's place. Cutting the engine the two of them just sat there in comforting silence. "I want to say thanks Hikari." That comment caught the girl in question by surprise as she never expected it to be said so out of the blue.

"You didn't have to help me with everything that went on during these last few days which was like some wild and crazy rollercoaster ride. Getting to the point, I probably wouldn't have been able to get through it without your help." In a totally unexpected move he leaned over and gave Hikari a quick kiss on the lips that was so quick that Hikari barely had time to react.

Almost in a daze, Hikari got out of the car and walked to her home but before going in she glanced back at Daisuke just as he was about to drive off. Staying there until he completely disappeared into the night she finally went inside her apartment. Overcome with exhaustion Hikari immediately headed for her bedroom. As she got herself ready for bed she had flashbacks to what happen in the car and that included the brief kiss at the end.

"_Where did that come from? What could've possessed Daisuke to kiss me? I thought we were nothing more than friends."_ Unexpectedly, Hikari's heart began to beat faster. _"What is this? Why is my heart beating so fast?"_ She tried to calm herself but it proved to be futile. _"Could it be because I might…" _Without even thinking it she touched her lips which caused her to shiver as it made her once again recall the intimate moment that was recently experienced. "…I might be falling in love?"

-/-/-/-/-

"Sir, we've gotten word from our associates." Rushing over, the man stood in front of a middle age man who was dressed in a well made suit. "As of right now you are in charge of dealing with the problem known as Daisuke Motomiya as well as those who are involved with him."

Hearing that bit of news seemed to please the man greatly as he chuckled insanely. "Marvelous. I've been waiting so long for this to happen. Now, I'll have the chance to settle some unfinished business." If possible the smile on the man's face grew even bigger. "Get ready Daisuke Motomiya. Soon we'll meet each other once again."

-/-/-/-/-

"Come on and hurry up honey, they'll be here at any moment. So, get moving."

"Anzu, dear, please calm down. There's no need to get all worked up." spoke her husband, Hiroko Motomiya. At the moment they were waiting on the company that they were having for dinner. They wouldn't have to wait long as the sound of the door being knocked on caught their attention.

Rushing over to the door, Anzu opened it and was pleased by who she saw. "It's about time that you showed up. I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up at all."

"Oh, come on mom. Do you think we would skip out on the opportunity to have one of your dinners?" Going over the company, who was none other than the Motomiya parent's daughter Jun who gave her mother a loving hug.

"Could the two of you stop that? If you keep this up much longer I might puke." said the person that came with Jun. "These girlie moments always make me sick to my stomach."

"Don't be so harsh Daisuke." Indeed the other person was the younger Motomiya sibling as he leaned against the doorway. "I mean, we know that you're only acting tough but that doesn't mean it's any less bothersome."

True to his mother's words, Daisuke let out a small smile then took the place that her sister had by hugging his mother. "Sorry for the delay. It's completely my fault. There were a few vampires that needed to be taken cared of which caused me to pick up Jun later than planned."

"It's no problem really." The conversation continued as they walked into the living room where Mr. Motomiya was sitting. "But wasn't the main reason why we're having this family dinner is because you two had a surprise for us?" inquired Anzu.

"That's correct mom. Just wait right here and I'll get that surprise." Heading back to the door Daisuke went to get whatever he wanted to show. He soon came back but he was accompanied by a young woman with long reddish brown hair.

"Mom, dad, I like to introduce you to Serenity. …She's my daughter and your granddaughter." Similar to when Jun found out, both parents were shocked by the surprising news. Fortunately after explaining the details they seemed to come to terms with everything. "And that's pretty much it."

A wave of silence went over the room which made Serenity even more nervous than she already was. _"I can't believe that I was talked into doing this. If it wasn't for me doing this as a favor to Jun I would never have done this."_ Her train of thought was broken when she saw the woman known as Anzu who was also grandmother coming over to her.

"Speaking for the entire Motomiya family I have one thing to say to you. …Welcome to the family."

Hearing that instantly started to ease the tension that Serenity was experiencing. "Thank you." She even bowed slightly to her accepting family. "I'm deeply honored."

* * *

Didn't I tell you that this chapter would be an interesting one. In my opinion this was one of my favorite chapters to do. Well, I hope to have the next chapter out soon and I don't mean waiting until next month. The reason being is that I have the overall story almost done and once I'm done I'll be putting up the chapters much faster than I have. Now please be kind and leave a review before you leave to tell me how you enjoyed this story all together. Until next time, see ya. 


	5. Family Issues

Here you go readers. The first part of the two parter that'll end this particular story of my overall series. This little mini arc is something that I've been wanting to do for quite sometime and I hope that I did a good with it. So, enjoy the chapter and as for the disclaimer, I don't own digimon.

* * *

_In life we don't get what we want, we get in life what we are. If we want more we have to be able to be more, in order to be more you have to face rejection.  
Farrah Gray_

Chapter 5:  
Family Issues

"Ah man, I feel like shit." muttered Ken as he bent over his kitchen table.

"No offense but you look like crap." uttered Miyako as she went over to hand Ken a cup of some kind of liquid. "Drink this. It'll help you to recover somewhat."

Grabbing the cup Ken quickly drank the liquid which he soon regretted as he began to cough heavily. "Damn. That stuff was nasty. Are you trying to kill me by allowing me to drink this?" Ken tried to spit the awful liquid from his mouth but the taste still remained in his mouth.

"Quit your complaining. It got you out of your funk didn't it? So I think a thank you is in order." She only got was Ken muttering a small thanks. "Well, I guess that's the best that I'll get from you. Is the reason why you're so out of it because of that project of yours?" asked Miyako who totally forget about the irritation that she had a moment ago.

"Yeah it was. With me helping Daisuke and working at my actual job the only time that I can work on the project is during the late hours of the night. Add that by repeating that on a regular basis and you'd feel like the walking dead." Suppressing a yawn that was trying to come out, Ken continued. "But in the end I believe it'll be worth it once I complete, which will be soon."

"Not to sound nosey or anything but you've been talking about this project for moths and whenever anyone ask you what it is you don't say a word." By the tone of Miyako's voice Ken could tell that his secrecy had really troubled her and he for one didn't like to be the cause of whatever troubled Miyako.

"Well, seeing as how it's almost completed I think it's time that I let it out. After all, what I'm trying to do does involve you." That bit of information caught Miyako's immediate attention. "How long has it been since you and Mimi arrived in this dimension? Close to a year?" He only got a nod of the head from his roommate as she had no idea what he was going with what he was talking about.

"Well, since then I've been trying to find a way for you to get back to Patheran or at the very least make contact with them. After many failed attempts I may have found a way to actually make contact with your home dimension. In other words, I might have discovered a way for you to get back home. Isn't that great?"

Instead of getting any sort of gratitude as he expected, Ken was surprise by the expression that was on Miyako's face. It was hard to tell what it was but Ken could detect a small trace of sorrow in her eyes. When Miyako realize that Ken was looking at her with some concern she got up from her seat and started to head towards the door.

"That's great news Ken. Really it is." In spite of her positive words it was apparent that Miyako was feeling the opposite. "I'm going to be taking a walk. I'll be back in a few hours." Not even waiting for a reply Miyako headed out, leaving a very confused Ken behind.

"_What's uip with that? I thought that she would've been glad to hear the news. I'll think about it later since I got to get everything ready."_ Ken was so consumed with his thoughts that Ken didn't realize that he was about to drink the strange liquid that Miyako gave her. When he realized what he was doing it was too late as he started to cough violently once again. _"Damn it, not again."_

-/-/-/-/-

"Do you think that this is a wise thing to do?" asked Daisuke. Currently he and company were at Ken's place since they were called in for something important.

"Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?" Ken quickly retorted as he connected a few wires to some type of device. "You know that I've been working relentlessly on this for nearly a year. Besides, I thought you wanted this."

Seeing a possible fight occurring, the third person of the group entered the conversation. "You're misunderstanding Ken." informed Hikari in a calm manner. "Daisuke may be a ditz but he doesn't mean any harm by what he said."

"She's right." It took a few seconds later when Daisuke realize what he was agreeing to. "Hey, I take offense to that." Hikari just smiled at him to show that it was in all good humor. "But the other thing that Hikari said is true. I meant no offense by my question. I'm just suggesting that perhaps we should wait until Miyako and Mimi get here before we try to contact their home dimension. After all, don't you think it's only right for them to be here for it?"

Momentarily stopping with his tweaking Ken let out a sigh that he was holding in for quite sometime. "We really can't do that can we? With Mimi going with her boyfriend James to compete in an archery contest and as for Miyako...I don't even know where she is. She left to go take a walk last night and I haven't really seen her since then." While he didn't say it Daisuke and Hikari could tell that whatever was going on with Miyako was worrying Ken but they kept their thoughts to themselves for the time being. "Anyways, I believe it'll be a nice surprise for them when they do show up."

After installing the last necessary components it appeared as though the machine was ready. "All right, here goes nothing." With a push of a button the machine started up and after some strange noises came from within, it began to lightly hum. "Now all we can do is wait and see what happens."

Suddenly without warning an opening of swirling blue appeared right in front of the group. Emerging from the opening came two individuals. One was a man who looked to be in his early forties. He had brown eyes and black eyes that had patches of grey that reached the top of his neck. The outfit that he had on seemed to be some sort of royalty type of robes that was red with gold trim and a blue sash tide around the waist. As for the second person, she seemed to be in her late thirties. She had auburn eyes and long purple hair that reached her lower back. The outfit that she had on was similar to the man's except it was blue with a black sash.

Nothing was said as no one knew what to say. The one who would finally break the silence would be the woman newcomer. "Hello. We're looking for some people. Their names are Miyako Inoue and Mimi Tachikawa. Perhaps you know them."

It was clear that Daisuke and the others were still taken back at what just happen before their eyes and what they were just asked only add to it. Recovering from the surprise Ken said the first thing that popped in his head. "Damn. This thing worked faster than I thought." He was clearly referring to his device that was still going.

Allowing his friend to continue with his self boasting Daisuke went ahead to do the introductions. "Hello. The name's Daisuke Motomiya and it's nice to meet you." Putting his hand out Daisuke waited for a handshake but only got was an uninterested stare from the man in return.

"Do you actually expect us to shake that?" By the way that the man said that made it appear as though he had nothing but detest for Daisuke. Even though realizing this, the aforementioned vampire didn't show any ill will towards him.

"Well, we could hug but we hardly know each other." Daisuke hoped that attempt at a joke would lighten the unsettling mood that was coming over the place only it failed miserably. _"All right, things are not going so well here. Maybe the woman can shed some light on the situation. Hopefully she'll be less irritable than her friend."_

When he turned his attention to the woman he got a reaction that he never expected. "My, aren't you a cutie." Reaching over the woman put a bewildered Daisuke into a tight embrace. Both Hikari and Ken didn't know what to make of what was going on as they couldn't tell if the woman was preparing for a sneak attack or was just weird.

"_Well I wasn't expecting this type of reaction."_ thought Daisuke as he gingerly tried to break away from the woman's grasp. _"Base on the reactions' from the two I don't know who'd be harder to communicate with."_ Finally he was able to free himself from the woman's grip. "Why don't we get to the business at hand and tell us what your connection is with Miyako and Mimi?"

Understanding that it was time to be serious the woman took on a no nonsense attitude. "But of course. Where were my manners? As for your question, the connection that I have with Miyako and Mimi is that I'm-" Right before she could complete that statement someone new entered the scene.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Standing at the doorway was none other than Miyako. When she got a clear view of the two newcomers her face immediately went pale and it look as though she saw a ghost. "Mom is that really you?" questioned Miyako in a quiet voice.

Seeing who had showed up a shocked expression came across the woman's face. Slowly she walked over to Miyako until she was standing right in front of her. "Yes, it's me, my daughter."

When Daisuke and the others heard that last part it surprise them greatly and it would only grow when they saw Miyako hug what seemed to be her mother and could even see her shed a tear or two. "I can't believe it. You're actually here. You don't' know how happy I am to see you." It seemed like it was a happy reunion until Miyako caught sight of the man who had accompanied her mom. "What the hell are you doing here father?"

The harshness that was behind that question really caught her friends off guard as it came so quickly after the tender moment that she just had. Whether he took notice of it or not the man, now identified as Miyako's father, didn't show any kind of reaction from it. "Both your mother and I have come to take you home, back to Patheran. Back where you belong."

Before anything more could be said, Miyako's mom stepped in. "Miyako, dear, where are you manners? Are you going to introduce us to your friends? And where is your cousin Mimi?" That seemed to work as Miyako went back to her kind hearted self. However, no one took notice that she still sent harsh glares from the corner of her eyes towards her father. No one that is, except for Ken.

"Mimi's out doing something and should be showing up later on." Miyako would stop talking as she sent another glare at her father who had muttered something that they couldn't hear. "Going back to what I was doing before I was interrupted let me introduce my friends. First up is Daisuke Motomiya. Next to him is his girlfriend Hikari Kamiya. Come on you guys, I was only kidding." Miyako couldn't help but chuckle at her two friend's reactions. While Daisuke had a look that would probably a normal person to death, Hikari was blushing madly.

"Last but certainly not lease Ken Ichijouji. My boyf-I mean the person that I'm currently staying with." When she heard that, Miyako's mom gave Ken a look that couldn't be really identified. Having a clue of what she was probably thinking, Miyako quickly tried to put those thoughts to rest.

"There's nothing going on between us mom. When I arrived at this dimension Ken allowed me to say at his place. We're just friends, nothing more." That seemed to suit her mom as she stopped with the look that she was going Ken. Miyako was glad to see this but couldn't help but be upset with herself for saying that she and Ken were just friends. Shaking that feeling for the time being she remembered that she still had introductions to do.

"Everyone, this is my mom, Ayame." After being properly introduced, Ayame gave a small bow to Daisuke and the others which they returned. That seemed to be all until Ayame gave her daughter a displeased look. Giving in Miyako continued. "Also, this is my father, Katsu." A simple grunt was her father's response.

From where they were, Daisuke, Hikari and Ken knew one thing for sure. That thing was even though they didn't know all of the reasons for what was going on between Miyako and her father they felt that the problems were only going to get worse.

-/-/-/-/-

An Hour Later…

"So those are your parents." spoke Daisuke. "They're…interesting."

"If you're trying to say in a nice way that they're strange don't bother. I'll be the first to admit that they're not like your ordinary parents, even by Patheran standards. However, they do have their moments."

Currently Daisuke and the others were gathered at a far end of the main room discussing the situation while Miyako's parents were on the other end and from what they could tell Ayame was giving her husband the third degree. To his credit, Katsu didn't show any signs of backing down.

"I hoe that I'm not over stepping my boundaries but is there some issues between you and your father?" It was the question that Daisuke and Hikari wanted to ask but weren't able to say it. Thankfully it would be Ken who would ask the question.

"Saying that the two of us have issues would be an understatement." replied Miyako with a seldom tone. "Don't get me wrong, he wasn't a bad father. He never mistreated me when I was growing up. We just have different perspectives about certain things." Before she had the time to elaborate, the sound of the front door opening caught their attention. "And we'll be witnessing one of those views sooner than later."

Emerging from the doorway was a smiling Mimi and right behind her was her boyfriend James who was carrying what seemed to be a large trophy. "Sorry I'm late you guys. I would've been here sooner but I had to stay for the award ceremony to receive my first place trophy." Apparently Mimi had yet to notice the two visitors as she had yet to acknowledge them.

"Also right after it was done James somehow able to convince me to have lunch with him to celebrate." It was then that she noticed the expressions on her friends' faces. "What's wrong you guys? What's with the looks on your faces?"

"Is that really you my little Meems?" Hearing that cause Mimi to gasp in surprise. Slowly she turned to where the voice came from and when she identified who it was her eyes went wide in shock.

"Oh my God. Is that really you aunt Ayame?" A nod in conformation was all that Mimi needed. In an instant she was giving Ayame a huge hug. "I can't believe that it's actually you. It's so good to see you again."

"The feeling is mutual my niece." replied Ayame who was returning the hug with equal amount of force. Releasing her she gave Mimi the once over. "My word, look at you. I don't know how to put it but you've change somehow and for the better I may add." Mimi couldn't help but be glad to hear that comment since she felt the same.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing different about her." exclaimed Katsu with a harsh tone. "She's still the same pathetic mixes breed as before." With each word that he said had cause Mimi's attitude to go from happy to sad. It got so bad that she was actually backing away from everyone.

"It's good to see you too…uncle Katsu." Watching her do such a thing for a person who had basically berated her confused her friends greatly. The only ones that didn't seem surprise by her actions were Miyako and Ayame. In response to her kind gesture, her uncle merely grunted in disinterest. To her credit Mimi maintained the same pleasant expression on her face.

Neither side spoke a word as they didn't know what to say after witnessing such a scene. When something was finally said it was a shock at who it came from. "What is your deal man?" questioned a very irate James who had put the trophy down and was standing gallantly beside his boyfriend. "I don't care who you are but you have no right to talk to someone like that, especially her." Tilting her head slightly, couldn't help but send James a very grateful look which he sent back to her.

"It is actually you who doesn't have the right to speak." retorted Katsu. "You have no idea what this is about." Sensing the possibility of a physical confrontation coming, Daisuke and everyone was ready to step in if necessary.

For his credit, James didn't back up an inch. "Don't understand what this is all about? Do you mean that she isn't pure according to your standards?" That seemed to shock everyone, even Katsu. "That's right, I know all about it. She told me every last bit. How you even though she was your own niece, you still shunned her. And why would that be you ask. It's because there is the blood of two clans running through her veins." Taking a momentary break from his banter he helped Mimi over to the others.

"Half of her is like you, a Patheran. As for the other half, it's from a clan that you were at war with for years. I believe their name was Windigo. Her mother, who was your wife's younger sister, fell in love with a Windigo, which would lead to Mimi being born. Unfortunately, the war became very hostel and regrettably both parents became causalities while their daughter was only a year old. Somewhat feeling obligated, your wife took Mimi in as her very own. Sadly you did not feel the same. Even with you coming out of the war victoriously you could do nothing but tolerate Mimi's existence because she was family."

With the story now told there were several reactions. Hikari was shocked as she never thought that her roommate and friend had that kind of life. Daisuke, Ken and James were angered at how someone they cared for was treated like she was. As for Mimi, Miyako and Ayame, they felt ashamed that the truth of what had been going on in their family being revealed. Last and currently lease, Katsu didn't seem the lease bit faze about all of the obvious hostility that was directed right towards him.

"So you know about my niece's past. Who cares? It's none of your concern what goes on within my family."

"The hell it doesn't." James quickly retorted. "It does concern me when it involves the woman that I love." Whether he meant to or not, James had revealed his feelings to everyone in the room. Everyone was shocked to hear that outburst but perhaps no one more surprise than Mimi. Right when she heard that she had a wide eyed expression and even though she was caught completely off guard she could not help but to be deeply touch.

Wanting to prevent an actually fight from taking place, Daisuke went ahead and tried to be the peacemaker. "Getting back to what we were talking about before the heated argument. Mind telling us what you're doing here?"

Katsu was about to speak up but before he had the chance, Ayame answered. "Why we're here to take our daughter and niece back home of course." When they thought nothing else could surprise them again, they were proven wrong. In the back of their heads they felt that was there reason but it didn't make things any less shocking. While everyone tried to wrap their heads around this, Miyako, who had kept quiet, finally spoke up.

"Thanks for the offer but we'll have to decline. We're not going back." That answer took her parents by complete surprise as that was not the answer that they expected. "You might've come here expecting us to just go with you without trouble but you were wrong."

Without turning her eyes away from her parents, Miyako began to step back until she was standing beside her friends. "Since Mimi an I arrived on Earth these people have shown nothing but kindness and loyality that is hard to come by." Even though she couldn't see it, Miyako knew that her friends were giving her appreciative looks. "Together we have done so much good and helped so many people then I ever thought possible. You may not like to hear this but I consider these people family and I'm not going to abandon them."

It appeared as though those words got to her mother as Ayame couldn't come up with any type of reply. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said the same for Katsu. "That's nice. However it doesn't matter seeing as how you and your cousin have no choice but to come back to Patheran."

No sooner did he take two steps towards them did the friends of Miyako and Mimi's intervene. It looked as though Daisuke was going to step in but that wouldn't be the case. The ones who would do so was Ken and James who stood protectively in front of Miyako and Mimi respectively. "I don't care if you're related to them." stated Ken. "if you so much as touch them I'll rip your arm off and beat you senseless with it." James would simply agree with a nod of the head.

With the signs of a fight once again coming up, Daisuke again got himself in the middle of the problem. "All right, let's stop before anymore is said that we'll regret later." Luckily that seemed to get through to them as the three men weren't trying to attack one another.

"It's getting late so let's just call it a day and continue tomorrow. Does that good?" Everyone seemed to agree on the suggestion. "Ayame, you and your husband are welcome to spend the night at my place." That immediately caught the attention of his friends.

"What are you, deficient?" hollered Ken, who didn't appear to happy with the invitation. "Why are you going to allow them to stay at your home? Sure, Ayame is all right but her husband is another story. No offense, Miyako." He quickly added in the hopes that it would lessen the anger of the woman only to be surprise that she hardly seemed faze by his remarks.

"I'm doing this because of two reasons. First being that it's the nice thing to do. Secondly, there's really not much of an alternative seeing as how I doubt you're willing to have them stay with you and I don't think it'd be wise for them staying at Hikari's seeing the tension between Mimi and Katsu." informed Daisuke matter of fact. "Thus, by the process of elimination I'm the best choice. Are you two okay with that?"

He was obviously talking to the senior Inoue family members. While Ayame showed no problem with it, Katsu was another story. By the look on his face there was no doubt that he wasn't too excited on the idea but was willing to go along with it.

With that out of the way they all prepared to go to their respective homes, leaving only Ken and Miyako behind. "So, what should we do now?" asked Ken casually in the hopes that it would fix the mood that was still surrounding them.

.Not even looking at him, Miyako got up from her seat and walked off. "I'm going to bed. Don't bother me unless it's an emergency." she stated with an impassive voice. Without so much as glancing back Miyako entered her room and close the door on a confused Ken who wondered what was up with his friend.

-/-/-/-/-

"Are you sure that you're all right?"

"Of course I am." answered Mimi. "Why wouldn't I be?" It wasn't hard to tell that she was lying as to not worry her companion and of course he wasn't buying it which she could tell. "Seriously, I'm fine. Stop worrying yourself over it James." She hoped that would ease his concern but that unfortunately did not work.

"Sorry for being worried but can you really blame me? I mean, even if I don't include what happen at Ken's you almost pleaded come stay at my place instead of going back with Hikari." When he put it out there Mimi looked guilty towards the ground. "Not that I'm complaining about having a lovely lady staying at my home but I need to ask what the problem is?"

It would take sometime but Mimi would finally come up with a decent response. "You're right. What happened at Ken's did shake me up." Letting out a shaky breath she continued. "I never got the chance to know my parents. They died when I was very young. Because of that I considered Miyako's as my own. My aunt Ayame always treated my just like any other girl despite where I came from. I was like a second daughter to her. My uncle Katsu however, he's a different story."

Sensing the possibly difficult that in the explaining, James knelt down in front of her. "Listen, you don't have to say anymore if you're not up for it. I'll completely understand." Touch by his words Mimi sent him a thankful smile.

"No, it's all right. I want to continue. Even though I was young I could tell that my uncle cared much for me. He basically tolerated me for my aunt's sake. Whatever kindness he had for me would vanish when I started to receive my premonitions. Seemingly it was a parting gift that my late father and his Windigo race left me."

"Premonitions? What do you mean?" Apparently James wasn't told about the unique ability that Mimi had.

"Sometimes when I touch someone or something I get images of the future. They come along often but when one does it's not always good. In fact, one that I remember is when Daisuke became bad. And judging by how big the premonition is it can take a bit out of me."

"Okay, I think I don't want to know about the whole Daisuke being bad thing. But I have to admit that this bit of news is shocking. Are you saying that you can see the future in a way?" All he got for an answer was Mimi nodding her head. "Have you used that power when it came to me?"

Immediately hearing that caused Mimi to snap out of her funk. "Of course I haven't. How can you ask such a thing? I told you, I don't get that many premonitions but they never been use for personal gain." The more that Mimi talked the more of her boldness that she had moments ago disappeared. "That's one of the main reasons that my uncle was uncomfortable being around me. He always felt like if I ever got close to him I would get a premonition about him and I would basically be setting his future." Apparently all of the feelings that Mimi had been bottling up were coming to the surface.

"I never ask to be different. I would give anything to be normal like everyone else. Is that really too much to ask?" With those words the tears began to spill out of her eyes. Putting her head in her hands she began to weep. "Am I wrong for thinking these types of things?"

Hating to see her with this much sadness, James reached over and tried to console her. "Of course it doesn't. Mostly everyone sometimes in their lives feel as though their lives are not what they want them to be. There are even times when they wonder if they should ever been born. And it appears though you're no different." Lifting up Mimi's head from her hands he made her looked at him in the eye.

"But we have to realize that the things in our lives aren't always as we expect them to be, even if they are able to get glimpses of the future. Besides, with the stuff that goes on within your life I believe you're more normal than you think." That statement would help to put an end to Mimi's crying as she became very interested in what James was talking about.

"Let's face facts. You and your friends go against monsters, demons and other nasty things in almost regular basis. Also, the main guy in your group is a vampire, with a soul no less. In my honest opinion you're more normal than most of the people I know and that's including yours truly." Thankfully that last part served its secret purpose by helping Mimi to get out of her funk as she chuckled slightly. "You know you're even cuter when you smile."

When she heard that, Mimi instantly had a shock look come over her face. Whether James meant to say it or not, James didn't show any sign of regret. Reaching over he slowly wiped away the tears from Mimi's eyes as she made no attempt in stopping him. Once he was done the two looked deeply at one another's eyes.

Leaning over the two started to kiss one another tenderly and which only got more heated as they continued. As the two resumed with the kiss the most unexpected things happen. Without warning, images started to flash in Mimi's head. It wasn't the images that troubled her; it was what she saw that got to her.

Going through her head were scenes of a battle going on with some unidentified creature which was fighting three people. Like with the creature, two of the three people couldn't be seen as they were blurred but the one that wasn't caught her off guard. Right before her 'eyes' was James with several wounds on various parts of his body. As the premonition began to fade away the last thing that she saw was the creature about a devastating blow upon her friend.

The whole situation had at last gotten to Mimi as she pushed herself from her kiss with James. James was greatly confused with the sudden move from his boyfriend. "Hey, what's the matter? Was there something wrong with the kiss?"

Thinking back to what she saw shook Mimi hard. Recalling the last thing she saw finally cause her to lose it once again and collapsed against James and start to cry heavily. Not knowing how to really react, James slowly wrapped his arms around his weeping girlfriend in the hopes that it would comfort her in someway.

-/-/-/-/-

Ken was a nice and peaceful sleep until he heard some commotion from outside his bedroom. Getting out of his bed he headed out of his room to see what was going on. Once stepping outside he immediately spotted the culprit. Standing there in the kitchen was Miyako and she was searching through the shelves for something. "May I ask what you're looking for?"

Caught completely off guard by the sudden question Miyako jumped back in surprise. "I was looking for the…the coffeepot. I was hoping to make some coffee for myself."

Not really buying that lame excuse, Ken chose to let it go for the time being and decide to play along. "It's on the kitchen counter, like it always has." Looking over to the aforementioned spot Miyako saw that Ken was right.

"What do you know. You were right." Going right to it she began to make a pot of coffee. As she was doing that, Ken sat down at the table and just sat there. For the next few minutes nothing was said between them as neither one knew what to say. Ken would finally go ahead and break the silence.

"Do you mind tell me why you're still awake?" If Miyako heard Ken's question he didn't show it. She didn't even turn to look at him as she had her back towards him. "That's a stupid question to ask. It obviously has to be because of your parents showing up." Again there was no reaction shown by Miyako. "Or to be more precise, it has to due with your father showing up." That would finally get a reaction out of Miyako as he saw her body stiffen ever so slightly.

"Am I really that obvious?" All she got for answer was Ken nodding his head. "Perhaps it's no surprise that there is heavy tension between my father and I. As for the reason, it mainly revolves around the treatment of Mimi. In my opinion I had no problem with my cousin's lineage as I viewed her as more of a younger sister."

With the coffee at last finished Miyako poured herself two cups of the liquid. Handing one of them to Ken the two of them sat calmly at the table. Glancing over to her roommate she saw that he was being tentative about drinking the drink, remembering what he unknowingly drank previously. "Don't worry. It's already prepared coffee this time."

After being reassured, Ken started to drink the offered drink. "Even though I don't have all the facts but is there any chance of you and your father patching things up? Maybe not completely but at lease to the point where you can tolerate being in the same room as him."

"I would like to say yes but I'd be fooling myself. My father and I will probably never be as close as we were when I was a child. However, perhaps in time we could come to an understanding with one another though I don't believe it'll be anytime soon." Sensing the seriousness that the conversation was going, Miyako attempted to change the subject. "Look at the time. You should go back to bed if you don't want to pass out at work due to exhaustion."

Knowing that it was nothing more than a ruse to get away from their conversation Ken didn't allow it to work. "Listen, I'm not going to tell you what you should do about your family issue. You're old enough to decide to do with your life. I just hope that whatever you decide you don't regret it later and that's all I'm going to say about that."

It seemed as though those words had gotten through to Miyako as she allowed herself to think them over. "Thank you, Ken. I assure you that I'll remember your words." Not another word was spoken as the two of them allowed a comforting silence to come over them.

-/-/-/-/-

"Here you go. This'll be where you'll be staying for the time being." Right after the very uncomfortable encounter that took place earlier, Daisuke took the Inoue adults to his place as it was the only good choice that was presented to them. "It isn't much I know but it should suite your needs while you're here."

Once stepping in it seemed as though Ayame was okay with the situation Katsu on the other hand almost appeared to be sicken by being in the same place as Daisuke which he didn't even try to hide. "There's no problem here." informed Ayame. Thankfully the female Inoue adult was taking everything on the bright side. "My deepest apologizes for putting you in this difficult circumstance."

"It's no problem. Remember I was the one who volunteered for you to stay here. My place is more than big enough for the both of you. Also, I'm doing this for Miyako and Mimi. They're my friends and I'm willing to do whatever I can for them."

"Ha, friendship? What a joke." muttered Katsu which everyone could hear.

Becoming fed up with the constant remarks and attitude that the male Inoue adult, Daisuke decided to get whatever issues out of the way. "Okay, that's it. I don't know what your deal is but ever since we met you have shown me nothing but disgust. Mind explaining the reason for it?"

"Don't pretend that you don't already know. My wife and I can tell what you are. You're a creature of the night who feeds on the blood of the living. I believe this dimension refers to your kind as vampires."

"That's it? That's why you don't like me? Because I'm a vampire?" asked Daisuke in an astonished tone. "Newsflash, Mr. Katsu Inoue. In this dimension you're not considered normal as well. You're just a close minded person who can't accept things that goes against your views. It's no wonder that Miyako and Mimi have difficulties connecting with you."

"Do not speak of things that you don't understand!" Apparently Daisuke's words stuck a nerve in Katsu as he exploded with a venomous response. "You are in no position to tell me on how I should act with my family. Especially considering what you are."

"What I am is not the issue. What is though is that you'll lose two family members if you keep up with this type of thinking." To prevent something from being said due to anger, Daisuke took several deep breaths to calm himself. "I may have known them for only a year but I have seen both your daughter and niece, despite living in a completely new place, accomplish over numerous adversities. In all honesty I'm honored to fight along side then and call them two of my dearest friends."

Before the discussion could go on, Daisuke's cell phone began to ring. After a quick conversation with the person on the end he hung it up. "That was Mimi. She said that there's something that should be checked out." He was about to head out but stopped himself. "Do you want to come along?" Glancing over his shoulder he looked at the Inoue adults. "Something may go down and it could give you the opportunity to see your daughter and niece in action."

That remark was mostly directed towards Katsu. Thankfully the man took the bait as he headed for the door. "I hope you know what you're doing." muttered Ayame as she apparently saw through Daisuke's plan. "You do know that this could backfire in your face."

"Yes I do. But the risk will be worth it if it helps to open your husband's eyes." Taking a moment he smirked at the female Inoue. "I guess I couldn't trick you as well, could I?"

In return, Ayame playfully winked at him. "Of course you couldn't. After all, where do you think Miyako got her wits from?"

* * *

I hope that you readers liked what I did with this particular chapter. Like I mentioned in the author notes at the top of this chapter this was something that I've been wanting to do for a while. A reason being that I realized that while I was doing this story I haven't really touched on the issues of Mimi and Miyako's quest on going back to their home world. 

Anyways, I promise to have the second part of this mimi arc on in the very near future. Until then, please go ahead and leave a review about what you thought about this chapter and the overall story.


	6. Resolve

It took a while but I finally have put up the next chapter to my series. This is going to be the final chapter to this particular story and I feel that it's a good way to wrap things up at this point. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it. As for the disclaimer, I don't own digimon.

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* * *

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_Accept the pain, cherish the joys, resolve the regrets, then can come the best of benedictions – 'If I had my life to live over, I'd do it all the same.'  
John McIntosh_

Chapter 6:  
Resolve

"Are you sure this is the right place Mimi?" In a deserted construction site was Daisuke and everyone else, including James and the Inoue family.

To be certain Mimi closed her eyes to recall what she saw. "This is the place. It's the one that I saw in my premonition. Everything that is except for the monster that is."

"What a surprise, you were wrong." muttered Katsu in a smirking tone. Despite his off the hand remark he was taking the situation serous as he continuously tighten his grip on his fighting axe. "We shouldn't have really expected all that much. All of her premonitions lead to trouble or prove to be pointless."

As before, those comments struck Mimi hard as she sadly bowed her head. Seeing this both Miyako and Daisuke were about to lay it into Katsu but someone beat them to it. "Why don't you do us a favor and shut up?" instructed an angry James. "I don't give a damn if you are Mimi's uncle but I'm getting quite fed up with your disrespectful remarks towards her and I believe I'm not the only one who thinks that."

The two were about to go to blows but before they could a flash happened in front of them. Shortly after the flash a tear seemed to be appearing in mid air. The tear would only get bigger to the point that something was forcing itself through. It was impossible to tell what the thing was but they knew that it was huge.

Having no way to prevent it from happening all the group could do was look on and watch as the creature entered their world. Mimi was correct about it being large as it stood nearly two stories tall. It had no real form as it was mostly resembled a reddish brown blob with two tentacle like hands. If there were any thoughts that the creature was harmless they were quickly extinguished as it snarled at them with its razor sharp fangs and give them all an evil glare with its two piercing black eyes that help to display jewel that was on its forehead.

"Man, you told us that this thing was ugly Mimi but damn." joked Daisuke in the hopes that it'd loosen everyone but it proved unsuccessful. Letting out a screech the creature raised its tentacles above its head. At the end of both tentacles a ball of multicolored lights appeared. Soon after being formed the balls exploded. "Everyone, get to safety!"

Moving as fast as their legs would allow they ran but wouldn't get far as both light balls caused the whole area to be covered in light. When it faded away it looked as though no harm was done to anyone. Shaking away the wooziness from his head Daisuke saw everyone was pretty much doing the same.

Once regaining all of his bearings he noticed that a ways from him were all of the girls. "Hikari are you and the others all right?"

"Yeah, I think so. A little roughed up but we should be fine." What she was saying was true as the only type of injury that was visible were a few cuts and bruises.

Getting back to his feet Daisuke started to head over to the girls but after taking only a few steps he collided with some kind of invincible force. "What in the hell is this?" Banging his fists forward he saw that he continually hit something that couldn't be seen except for the ripple like effect when it was hit. Not long after both Ken and James joined him only to get the same result.

Witnessing their friends' dilemma, the girls went over to them but it didn't help matters. "What is this?" asked a little worried Mimi.

"It must be some sort of barrier." figured Ayame. "Apparently that attack that the creature let loose wasn't meant to cause us harm but was to keep us from getting away." To further her explanation she pounded her hand over the invincible wall which like everyone else hit the barrier. "The only way to get rid of the barrier is by killing the one who made it."

"Is that all it'll take?" asked Daisuke as if it was no big deal. "For a moment I thought it would be something difficult." Gripping his sword tightly in his left hand he stuck his right arm out and out came his collapsible sword. "Are you guys ready?"

"You should already know the answer Daisuke." answered Ken as he readied himself to fight.

"I'm not one to fight but I'm willing to help in anyway possible." added James who was somewhat tentative in fighting but was still willing to do whatever he could do to help.

"Don't even bother trying." Placing himself in front of the three was none other than Katsu Inoue. "Leave it to me. You'll just get in my way." Before any of them could argue, Katsu charged towards the creature. Avoiding the first swipe with the tentacle followed by the second one he was able to get close enough to deliver a blow to the creature that cause it to shriek in pain. "Now that's how it's supposed to be done." taunted Katsu.

Mere seconds after those words were spoken was Katsu hit with a hard shot to the gut that sent him tumbling to the ground. The blow came so hard that if it wasn't for him gasping and coughing it would've been difficult to tell whether or not he was dead or alive.

"Dad!" screamed a concerned Miyako. "I may have my problems with him but he's still my father." It wasn't hard to see that she wasn't the only one who was worried about the well being of Katsu. Both his wife and even Mimi were wondering about his condition.

Apparently becoming in raged by getting wounded, the creature let out another shriek only this one was different. Coming out from its mouth was a stream of green swirling energy and it was going straight at the still hurting Katsu. Seeing the attack coming he tried to get out of the way but was unable to do so as he was still trying to recover from the previous attack.

With no way to prevent the upcoming attack Katsu closed his eyes and brace himself for what was to come only it never came as someone intercepted it. When the smoke was clear it was revealed that the one who had stepped in the way had been Daisuke Motomiya. Having both arms cross in front of him he stood his ground despite the fact that he was severely battered from the attack.

"Hey. Are you all right?" asked Daisuke with a labored breath.

"W-Why did you do that? Why would you put yourself in harm's way for me?" Katsu was confused about what had happen.

"Because I'm the hero and that's what heroes usually do. Doesn't matter if the person I'm trying to help dislikes me or considers me a monster. As long as they live I know that what I did was right." Soon after those words were said it looked as though all of the strength that Daisuke had left in him disappeared as he started to fall. If it wasn't for him using one of his swords as support he would've collapsed completely. "But that doesn't mean I don't feel like hell afterwards."

As he tried to regain his footing Daisuke was hit with a hard blow by one of the creature's tentacles. The blow came at him with such force that it actually cause him to go sailing back to the point that he crashed against the barrier. It was as though Daisuke hit a brick wall as he in a way slid all the way down the barrier where he then crumbled to the ground in a heap.

"DAISUKE!" Hikari practically screamed. Rushing over to where he laid she tried to go over to him but the barrier prevented her from reaching him. "Come on, say something Daisuke." Getting a weak but audible word of reassurance from him put her somewhat at ease. _"I'm so glad to hear that. I don't even want to think about what it would be like if he was gone."_

With that obstacle out of the way there was nothing standing between the creature and Katsu who was still unable to get away. As the upcoming blow came his way Katsu expected this to be the end but once again he was saved. However, unlike last time, it wasn't Daisuke who did the saving.

"Seriously now, don't you think that it's about time that you got off your ass?" asked Ken as he struggled to keep the tentacle at bay with his sword. "What my friend Daisuke said was true. It doesn't matter where you came from or what others think about you. A hero is someone who puts others before themselves despite the consequences that would befall them."

Ken was so occupied with his struggle and discussion that he didn't notice that the other tentacle was coming at him from the side. Not being able to block the second attack without allowing the other one to get through Ken could only hope that he would be able to withstand the blow. Just as Ken did earlier, another person stepped in.

"I must be crazy for doing this." muttered James as he tried his hardest to keep the second tentacle at bay. Unfortunately he was having a harder time than Ken was seeing as how he wasn't as strong as everyone else. "But what the hell? Must of the things in my life right now isn't really considered normal."

"Why are you helping to protect me?" Katsu's question was directed towards James who made his feelings for Katsu pretty clear.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this for your sake. I don't really care for you but there is a girl who would be very depress if you were to die, even if you are not deserving of her sorrow." With a rush of strength James was actually pushed the tentacle back. "Despite my personal feelings that I have against you I could not bare to see that girl cry. I've seen her do that once and I don't want to see that again."

Realizing that his tentacles were going to do the trick, the creature decided to go with a different approach. Opening its mouth it let out another green swirl of energy and this time it hit its target as it hit the ground that was between the three. The shockwave from the attack was so strong that it caused the three men to go flying in three different directions.

"Man, if it hurts to get hit by just the aftershock I can only imagine how Daisuke feels after getting hit directly." Feeling something running down his head James put his hand to it and when he pulled back he saw that there was blood on it. _"I guess I got more hurt than I originally thought."_ On closer examination it could be seen that were other cuts on various parts of James' body.

Once gathering enough of his senses he got back to his feet and as he got up he clutched his left arm as it apparently got injured. Putting aside his own injuries he tried to see how the others were. James immediately spotted Ken as he was on the ground in a heap. Thankfully he heard the sound of groaning from Ken confirmed that he was at lease alive.

There was no sight of Katsu and despite his current dislike for the man he couldn't help but be concern about the man's well being. His reluctant worry for Katsu was forgotten when he heard the cries of someone. Focusing on where the cries were coming from he saw that they were originating from Mimi who by the look on her face was on the verge of breaking down into tears.

"Please James; get away as far away from there as possible. I beg of you to do as I ask."

The fear and urgency in Mimi's voice took James by surprise. "Don't worry yourself so much Mimi. I'm not as hurt as I appear to be." Of course he wasn't completely telling the truth. _"It feels as though I'm on the verge of collapsing but I mustn't. I don't want to worry Mimi more than she already is."_

Not buying his lies, Mimi continued to worry. "You don't understand. When I hand my premonition I saw this. You being hurt like you are and the last thing I saw was that creature about to crush you."

That bit of information caught James' interest but was forgotten for the moment as a humungous shadow came over him. Slowly and with some reluctance he turned around and to James' dismay he saw the creature. To further his worry it was about to strike him down and with the condition that he was in there was no way that he could stop it. With no way to prevent what was to come he closed his eyes and waited for the end to come. When nothing happen he opened his eyes and saw that someone was holding the attack back. It wasn't Ken or Daisuke as in this case it was surprisingly Katsu.

"Don't take this the wrong way. I didn't save you because I wanted to. I'm merely returning the favor for when you and your friends saved me. It doesn't change my views about certain things." As the power struggle continued the creature was slowly gaining the advantage as bit by bit Katsu was being pushed back. It appeared as though he was about to lose when something came in and slashed at the tentacle. That something was none other than the sword of James who could only use his right arm to swing the weapon as his left one was still too injured to be much use.

"If that's how you feel then fine. Let's deal with this big piece of shit then we'll settle whatever issues that is between us. Does that sound good?" Instead of answering with words, Katsu responded by standing beside James and was ready to fight. "I'll take that as a yes." With no other word being side the two reluctant partners went to work.

-/-/-/-/-

"_I've got to get up. I got to help them."_ Those and many other thoughts went through Daisuke's head as he could do nothing but watch on as he attempted to recover from the heavy hits that he sustained. He could see that despite the unlikely partnership of Katsu and a hurt James, it was proving to be quite effective. Unfortunately, they weren't really making any real progress. Add that with Ken being unable to move let alone join in the fight it would be only a matter of time until they too would be on the losing end of this fight.

Bracing himself, Daisuke attempted to get up only to fall back down. _"Damn it. I still haven't recovered enough to be any help. There's got to be something that I can do to help."_ As Daisuke tried to come up with something he took notice of something.

"Let me in! Let me in, you son of a bitch!" The hollering of Miyako and the sounds of the constant pounding of hands against the barrier could be heard. But that wasn't what caught Daisuke's interest.

What he noticed was that whenever someone hit the barrier it would seemingly weaken for a bit before going back to full power. _"If that always happens then perhaps there is something I can do."_ For the second time Daisuke tried to get up and this time he was successful as he managed to get back to his staggering feet.

Slowly he turned to face the girls who were shocked to see that he was up. "Daisuke, you shouldn't be on your feet." exclaimed a concern Hikari as she appeared to be at her wits end.

Even though I'm flattered with you being worried about me Hikari but now isn't the time." He stopped talking for a moment as his vision became blurred. Regaining his composure he got back to the matter hand. "Mimi, I need you to fire an arrow at the jewel that's on the creature's forehead."

Becoming somewhat off guard by her friend's unexpected request Mimi didn't know how to respond. "I-I'm not sure if I can do that Daisuke. I never had to hit a target that small before. Besides, there's no way that I can get pass the barrier."

"Don't worry about the barrier; I'll take care of that problem." Noticing the uncertain looks on the faces of Hikari and Mimi he further explained. "When the barrier is hit it weakens slightly. So, I'm going to use my own body so that it'll weaken enough so you can shoot an arrow at the creature's jewel which I strongly believe is the focal point of its power. Once that's destroyed the rest will be easy." It seemed like a simple plan to go along with but Hikari unfortunately had to state the drawback.

"But Daisuke, if you do use yourself to drain the barrier it'll put a large strain on your body and with how banged up your body is, the chances of you surviving are nearly nonexistent."

Wanting to put the concern girl's worries aside, Daisuke gave her an easy smile. "If it means that this thing is stopped before it hurts anyone else then I'm willing to take the risk. Besides, my body is able to withstand more than any ordinary person." Daisuke tried to make the situation sound like a simple thing but no one was buying it.

"That's all nice and good." muttered Mimi who was somewhat touch by her friend's kind words. "But what if I miss? Your body might be able to handle one attempt but not a second one." At that statement Daisuke couldn't help but to groan as he knew what his friend was saying was true. "What do you plan to do if I miss?"

For a while the vampire with a soul didn't say anything as it appeared as though he was really thinking about it. The silence would finally be broken when he gave them a confident smirk. "Then I suggest that you don't miss." Taking a few deep breaths he readied himself for what was to come. "Get yourself because we're putting the plan into action."

Without allowing them the chance to give a rebuttal, Daisuke headed towards the barrier. Not stopping for even a second he pressed his body against it. While normally the barrier wouldn't cause little to no pain when touched, it wasn't the case as a searing pain began to consume him and only got worse as time went on. Feeling that the time was right he gave the order.

"Shoot your arrow Mimi. Do it now!" When he didn't get any type of response he looked to see that Mimi was frozen, unable to move. "Damn it Mimi. Snap out of it before it's too late. If you don't' everyone is going to die and that includes your uncle and James."

That seemed to have gotten through to Mimi as she reached back for an arrow but still wasn't able to fire it. "Listen, I know that you're scared and that's understandable. But you mustn't allow it to control you. It's your chance to show that you're not the same weak and defenseless that you were thought to be."

Finally it appeared as though Mimi had completely overcome her fears as she aimed her bow and arrow at the target. However, as she was aiming her arms began to shake and no matter how much she tried, they wouldn't stop. As she tried to settle herself she felt a hand on her right shoulder. Turning her head Mimi saw that the hand belonged to Miyako, who was giving her a reassuring smile. From the life side another hand touched her other shoulder and it was from her aunt Ayame as she tried to reassure Mimi as well.

Their kind gestures seem to do the trick as it helped Mimi calm down. Focusing at the matter at hand she aimed again and when it looked right she fired. Thankfully Daisuke's prediction about the barrier becoming weakened was correct as it didn't prevent the arrow from getting through. _"Please don't miss. Please don't miss."_ thought Mimi over and over as she and everyone else hoped that her shot would hit its mark.

-/-/-/-/-

"_It can't end like this. Not this way." _Those and many other thoughts went through James' head as he tried to remain on his feet but it was proving difficult as all the pain and injuries that he had received were taking a toll on him. He wasn't the only one as his reluctant partner Katsu was in just as rough shape as he was. Add that with the fact that Ken was still unconscious and thus unable to lend a hand it became even harder to fight.

Despite that their alliance was an uneasy one, the combined attack of James and Katsu was working effectively against the creature. However, even though their attacks were hitting their target they weren't really making any sufficient damage. As much as it hurt him to admit it, James they were in a losing battle.

At that moment the two fighters were completely exhausted and unable to fight any longer as they were at the mercy of the creature which would show none. _"So this is how it'll end for me. If so then I'm going to deeply regret not having more time with Mimi. But as long as she makes it through this then it's okay."_

Accepting his fate, James waited for the end to come. It wouldn't come however as something came shooting over his head and hit the creature right in the jewel that was on its forehead. On closer examination it was discovered that the thing that was fired was an arrow. _"Way to go Mimi. What a shot."_

The instant that the arrow hit the creature howled in pain as it tried to use its tentacles to remove the arrow only for its attempts being futile. Moments later two more arrows joined the first one and it look like three was the magic number as the jewel shattered to pieces. From where the jewel once was there was a hole and from that hole a bright glow started to appear. With every second the glow became brighter and brighter to where it was almost blinding.

Getting a feeling of dread at the pit of his stomach, James shouted out in warning. "Everyone take cover! This thing's going to blow!" Not wanting to risk the chance that he was right, nearly everyone readied themselves for the pending explosion.

The ones who weren't doing that were Daisuke, as he was still feeling the effects from long term exposure of contact with the barrier. The other person was Ken, as he wasn't in any condition to do anything. Feeling that Daisuke could handle himself, James headed over to Ken where he covered his body with his own. It was fortunate that he did that as mere seconds later the creature exploded and covered the area in a blinding light.

When the light began to fade it was discovered that the damage wasn't as bad as originally believed. With the exception of a large crater from where the new destroyed creature once stood there wasn't any significant damage but that wasn't the main concern. Now that the coat was clear, Hikari, Mimi and Ayame hurried over to their respective companion.

Hikari was the first to do so as she knelt beside Daisuke who was actually sizzling from what had happen to him. When she touched one of his arms it literally burned her hand slightly. Paying no mind to that as her main concern was the condition of her friend.

"Daisuke are you all right?" Receiving no response she shook him gently. "Come on Daisuke, this isn't funny. Please say something." When she was about to give up hope she felt him stir slightly.

Coughing to clear his throat Daisuke slowly opened his eyes and caught sigh of a relieved Hikari. "Hey there, how's it going?" Before he could continue another coughing fit came over him. Once it passed his nose picked up something. "Is someone barbequing or is it just me?"

It was a pathetic attempt of a joke but it did the trick as it brought a smile back to Hikari's face. What happen next came as a complete surprise as she gave him a tender embrace. He was so caught off guard by the act that Daisuke did nothing as Hikari finally let him go." Sorry about that." Hikari quickly apologize. "I don't know what came over me."

Finding amusement in Hikari's embarrassment, Daisuke couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Don't worry about it. If getting hug by you is what I get for doing what I did than I'd gladly do it again." That remark only cause to further embarrass Hikari to the point that she started to blush heavily. Feeling that she had enough, he decided to change the subject. "How is everyone else doing?" Fearing what might come out of her month at the moment, Hikari simply gestured her head over to where the others were.

-/-/-/-/-

"How are you doing? What's the last thing that you can remember?" After doing his absolute best to clear the fogginess from his head, Ken glance up into the eyes of Miyako.

"There's not much to remember. That is of course if you don't include being knocked around li8ke a rag doll by a large freakish creature then being rendered unconscious. But that's enough about me. What's up with you?"

"I'm doing great now that I know that you're okay." That comment seemed to shock Miyako as if she didn't believe that she actually said such a thing. In the hopes to cover up the blush that was coming across her face she started to examine Ken's body. "With the exception of a few cuts and bruises it looks as though you're okay."

"That's good to hear. By the way, who stop the creature? Was it you or Daisuke?"

"Actually it was Mimi." The shocked expression on Ken's face was priceless and Miyako couldn't help but laugh. "You should thank her for saving you but I think now isn't the time." Confuse by what she meant by that, Ken turned his head and instantly understand what she meant.

-/-/-/-/-

"Come on, tell me what hurts."

"I have to say that everything hurts." joked a somewhat serious James. Currently Mimi was sitting on the ground with her legs tucked underneath her as a bruise and battered James laid his tried head on her lap. "That was some shot you did there. It was a one in a million shot but you were able to do it. Truly, it was amazing."

"It wasn't all that great." She was lying as it was a big thing since if she missed then most likely some of them wouldn't he here at the moment. "Besides, if someone should be praise it should be you. Despite having a hurt arm you were still willing to fight. That was indeed something."

Brushing off the praise, James reached up with his uninjured arm and stroked it against Mimi's cheek. "What can I say? I had something worth fighting for." A pleasant silence came over the two and even though neither one wanted it to be broken they knew that it needed to be. "Where's your uncle? Not that I care but I'm curious."

"He's right over here." informed Ayame who was helping her husband over by having him leaning against her. "It appears as though all of us came out of this basically okay. I'm so glad."

Slowly everyone got together, even though half of them had to be helped. "I think that we should get out of here as soon as possible." informed Daisuke. "All the commotion certainly caught people's attention and I think I speak for all us when I say that none of us want to be here to answer any of their questions." There was no argument from anyone and that included Katsu who for the first time since arriving didn't make any kind of argument. By the time that the authorities arrived there was no sigh of anyone.

-/-/-/-/-

"This was some night wasn't it?" James was stating the obvious but hoped that it would some how lighten the mood that everyone was feeling. Unfortunately it was proving futile. Immediately after leaving the battlefield everyone went to Ken's place since it was the closes one. At the moment Hikari, Mimi and Ayame were tending to Daisuke, James and Katsu's wounds. While at the same time both Ken and Miyako were looking through the books in the hopes of discovering what was the creature that they fought was.

"Just another wrap and that should do it." What Mimi was referring to was the putting of the final touches to the mending of the wounds that James had sustained. "There, that should do it. How are you feeling now?"

The patch up job on James consisted of his injured left arm being in a makeshift sling, a few stitches for the cuts that he received and even though his right arm wasn't as hurt as his other one it still needed the forearm to be wrapped up as well. "I'm fine. You didn't have to be so worried about me. With the exception of my left arm there's nothing seriously hurt so I'll be fine in a couple of days. There's no reason for you to get all worked up."

Mimi's response wasn't with words. Instead she leaned she leaned in and carefully wrapped her arms around James. "I was so worried for you." she muttered with her face pressed against his chest. "While you were stuck behind the barrier I continued to wonder if you would make it out alive. Then as I was aiming my arrow at that creature I hesitated, fearing that I would fail. Thankfully Daisuke gave me some reassuring words which gave me the confidence to shoot." Without really knowing she tighten her grip on him. "Even though everything turned out all right I still shiver whenever I think back to what happen or what could've happen today."

Slowly as to not further his injuries, James laid his right arm gentle around Mimi. "Hey, don't you worry so much about me. If any good came out of tonight was that I can handle myself if the situation presents itself and that if necessary you are willing to help those that you care for." Nothing more was said between the two as they simple enjoyed each other's embrace and the comfort that they were receiving from each other.

-/-/-/-/-

"Look at those two. Don't they look good together?" From the other side of the room Daisuke was getting his wounds treated as well but most of his injuries were burn marks as a result of the creature's voice blast and the prolong exposure to the barrier. As a result Hikari was using ointment to quicken the healing process.

Looking over to the aforementioned scene, Hikari let out a happy smile. "They sure do." Daisuke didn't notice that her smile had wavered slightly. "I'm happy for them." Hikari was telling the honest truth. However, at the same time she couldn't help but be a little envious of them. "Hopefully they appreciate what they have."

Whether she meant to or not, Daisuke notice the tone that was behind her words. Once again looking at the couple he saw something else that he didn't see before. "Yeah, they should appreciate what they have." Pausing for a moment Daisuke figured out what to say next. "Do you think that maybe that could probably be…us?" There was no other time that Daisuke could recall when he was so worried about the result of an answer.

His anxiety only continued to get worst when Hikari didn't immediately answer. "Perhaps there could be. That is of course if we wish to be." Cautiously she looked up right into Daisuke's eyes. "Do you wish to see if there could be something between us?"

Wanting to make sure that he wouldn't say the wrong thing, Daisuke took a few moments to come up with the right words. "I wouldn't mind to try and see if there could be a thing with us. It's really up to you if you truly want to try."

Expecting a simple yes or no answer, Daisuke was caught off guard when Hikari leaned over and gave him a soft but loving kiss on the lips. After recovering from the shock he slowly began to kiss her back. Though the moment between the two was nice it ended as soon as it started. "Does that answer your question?" Still somewhat dazed from the unexpected kiss, Daisuke merely nodded his head.

Before the issue could go any further, Ken came in with Miyako right behind him and they seem to have something important to say. "We've found the identity of our recent defeated opposition." That got the attention of everyone as they wish to know what they had to go up against earlier that night. "It's called a Bofedo. It's mostly known as a creature that fights anything that comes its way. Also it said that they mostly are inner-dimensional creature and usual never enter an actual dimension as it stays in the areas that resides between them."

"In other words, what Ken is saying is that this Bofedo creature didn't show up for the hell of it. Meaning something interested it enough that it wanted to show itself in this dimension." added Miyako when she notice the confuse looks on everyone's face. "What needs to be ask now is what could've make the creature want to enter this dimension?"

None of them said anything as they had no clue what the cause could've been. "I believe I have an idea." spoke a wary Ken. "It must've been the device that helped to lure Miyako's parents here."

"What are you talking about?" asked Katsu as he had absolutely no clue what was being talked about. "What device?"

"We're referring to the device that is over there." Ken pointed over to the device that was on top of a small table on the other side of the room. "It was designed to make contact with anyone that had similar life readings to Miyako. Apparently it wasn't specific enough." When Ken noticed the confused looks of the older Inoues he began to wonder. "That was how you found where Miyako and Mimi disappeared to right?"

"That's not how we found them." enlightened Ayame. "Ever since they disappeared we sought out every seer and shaman that we could find any lead to where they may have disappeared to. It wasn't until a few months ago until we actually came up with something. After we discovered where you were it took us sometime for us to find a way to get here."

Reaching into a pocket she pulled out a small blue vile that contained some type of liquid. "Thankfully we came across someone that was known for creating potions that could make portals to different worlds or dimensions. You know the rest of the story."

"So basically you're saying that my device did nothing more than lure a creature that could've killed us all." When he got nothing but nods of the head or purposely avoidance of eye contact Ken got his answer. "I see. Excuse me for a moment." Walking away he headed over to the device that he made.

Picking it up he examined it for a while until he suddenly slammed it against the ground and began to repeatedly step on it. Soon the device was nothing more than a heap of destroyed metal. When Ken was done he notice the strange looks that he was getting from everyone. "Just making sure that we don't have anymore uninvited guests."

There was a moment of silence as none of them knew what to say next until Katsu spoke up. "Now that everything's out of the way it's time to get back to why we came here. Miyako, you and your cousin get some of your things together. We're leaving in a while."

"The hell we are." retorted Miyako quite forcibly. "We told you before and the answer is still the same. We're not going anywhere." Though she didn't do it with words, Mimi agreed with her cousin's words with a firm nod of the head.

With another argument on its way, Daisuke placed himself in the middle. "Now wait one second everybody. There are obvious issues that need to be settled before something happens." Turning to the side he focused toward Katsu and Ayame. "You want them to go back with you to Pantheran, correct?" Getting the nods of conformation from them he turned around to Miyako and Mimi. "And you would prefer to say here. Am I right?" They too confirmed the statement with a nod of the head.

"Well, I'm not sure how much my opinion carriers but I think you should allow them to do what they want and letting them stay here." Noticing the impending rebuttal Daisuke continued. "You obviously worried about their well being. But I think that by managing to survive for about a year and if you need anymore proof then look back to how they handled what happen earlier. Just think about what's right for them."

Daisuke's words seemed to strike a cord with the Inoues as they didn't speak up for a while. "Ayame, let's get going." said Katsu as he turned away from everyone. Grabbing the vial from his wife's hand he smashed it in front of them. When the vial broke a big blue swirling form of light appeared. Apparently it was one of the portals that they used to travel. "They've obviously choose what they wanted and we must allow them to go through it."

Understanding what her husband was talking about Ayame slowly went over to Miyako and Mimi where she then gave them a tender kiss on both of their cheeks. "If you ever wish to see us, use this." Placing a similar vial in Miyako's she went over to stand beside her husband. They were about to enter the portal when Katsu suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Mimi, it's obvious that you've changed and for the better. You also found a very loyal companion. Take good care of her." That last past was directed towards James.

Tighten his hold on Mimi he gave him a reassuring look. Once seeing that, Katsu glanced over to Daisuke. "Motomiya, I'll remember what you said about not being close minded. I won't make any promises though." Understanding what he was talking about Daisuke simply nodded his head. With nothing more being said the married couple entered the portal and once they went through it disappeared as though it was never there.

"Well, that's one issue that's been dealt with." muttered a relieved James who was just glad to have the whole thing over with.

"Yeah, and the start of another one." stated Ken. "There was something that Miyako and I left out about the Bofedo creature." Hearing that all of them listen very carefully what Ken was talking about. "While it's true that the Bofedo likes to remain in the boundaries between dimensions, they are unable to actually enter a dimension on their own. While would lead us to believe that…" He trailed off so they could figure it out.

"Someone helped it get here." concluded Daisuke. "And something tells me that there's still more to come."

-/-/-/-/-

"Xanatos, sir, I being very important news." shouted a frantic man who came barreling in the dim lighted room of what appeared to be his boss's room. Once he was in the room the man quickly came to a halt at the edge of a row of steps that led to a chair where an unknown man sat.

Due to the lack of light the identity of the man could not be seen but a look of irritation was seen on his face. "What do you have to tell me?" questioned the unknown man in a gruff voice. "And for your sake it better be important or you'll surly regret it."

With his potential life at stake the man instantly became more worried. "We were recently informed that the Bofedo creature that you helped to enter this dimension was destroyed by the target and his allies. It seems as though your plan was unsuccessful."

Expecting a violent outburst, the man was surprise when he saw that his boss had a satisfied smile on his face. "Can't say that I'm all that surprise." exclaimed the unidentified man with hardly any tone in his voice. "I didn't have that much faith in the Bofedo actually getting the job done."

Pausing for a moment the boss let out a chuckle. "At lease it helped to shake up the target and put him on his toes." The chuckle actually got louder as he found some kind of humor of what had happen. "Beware Daisuke Motomiya. The trials for you have only just begun."

* * *

Well, what did you think? Was it what you expected? As you probably can tell by the ending of the chapter, there is still more to come from the Xanatos character and trust me, I've only given you a small bit of who he really is. Of couse, everything will be explained further in the next story of the series called, "Dangers Comes From Within" which I hope to have on within the next two weeks. I believe that it's from that story that things will get even more interesting. 

Anyways, before you go please be kind and leave a review about what you thought about this chapter. Until next, see ya.


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